The League of Knights
by Valveman
Summary: An awesome Blazing Dragons story! A strange man named Seyon comes to Camelhot, where he forms a group called The League of Knights, which is nothing like the Kinghts of the Square Table... Chapter 9 has been uploaded, finally!
1. The League of Knights

The League of Knights

By Cameron Whitaker

Foreword

When Seyon arrived at Camelhot early one morning, Camelhot would never be the same. He pleaded to the king for knighthood, but he was graciously dismissed. Thus, he formed his own order, the League of Knights. This order is far different from any other order. It is defined by its lack of rules, strange tasks, and questionable sanity. There is no such thing as an ordinary day in the League, but then again, there is no such thing as an ordinary day in Camelhot…

The Beginnings of the League

It was a cool, breezy morning for Camelhot. Clouds littered the sky, and the leaves fluttered on the ground. Out of these relatively calm surroundings came a gentle puff… puff… puff… puff… Cinder and Clinker were standing guard above the castle's heavy drawbridge, when a man in a strange carriage towing a trailer full of personal belongings pulled up.

"Who goes there," said Clinker in a boring, monotonous voice.

"I am Seyon. I have come from afar, like, very _very _afar, and I seek a place to stay. May I speak with the king?"

"Hold on! We'll be right down!" Cinder shouted in his usual cheerful voice.

Suddenly, the drawbridge fell open in front of Seyon. A few seconds later, Cinder and Clinker fell onto the drawbridge right in front of him, examining the stranger. He was fairly tall and slender man, with bushy, apparently uncombed hair that had a golden shade, and blue-grey eyes.

"Right this way," said Clinker, pointing to the gate. Seyon slowly drove the carriage through the gate. On the other side, he found himself in a spacious courtyard with lush gardens surrounding him. He jumped out of the carriage, but left it running slowly so it would be ready to go if had to leave in a hurry. It made slow puffing noises as it sat idling. Cinder and Clinker led him to a large room, where a man lay sleeping in a throne.

"We have a visitor!" Cinder seemed to be overly excited.

"What? Oh, yes… I am King Allfire. What can I do for you?" He was obviously still half-asleep.

"I am Seyon. I am in need of a place to stay. Would you be so kind as to assist me?"

"Why, I think we can spare a room. Cinder, Clinker, show him to that room that we let Sir Blaze decorate the other day. It's been unoccupied ever since!"

"At once sire," replied Cinder.

They left the room in an orderly manner.

"Hmmm… A human in Castle Camelhot? We'd better keep an eye on him…" said King Allfire to himself.

Cinder and Clinker led Seyon through several hallways, each one misshapen in some way. Finally, he was standing in front of a heavy, wooden door. He slowly opened it, and was shocked by the sight. The room was hot pink, and there were several strange paintings that lined the walls. The two beds in it were both of an orange shade, and had hundred of tassels hanging off the comforter.

Seyon turned to Cinder and Clinker, and said in a lively voice, "Well, I don't think I'll be able to sleep at night, but beggars can't be choosers!"

They left, and Seyon proceeded to return to the courtyard to retrieve his luggage from the carriage. In total, it took him half and hour to find his way back, and he only got lost once, a personal best. Finally, he arrived at the courtyard. When he returned to the carriage, there were two dragons looking at it. Seyon, however, stayed behind them and remained unnoticed, just to listen to them. The carriage continued to puff steadily.

"What do you think it is Flicker?" Said a young lady dressed in a pink and purple dress.

"I don't know Flame, but I will ask the owner when I meet him. I'm as curious as you are!" Replied another dragon who wore a blue suit of armor and a helmet with a pinwheel on top. He carefully observed the exposed machinery as it moved back and forth, spun, or rocked. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. It had total of six wheels, two in the front and four in the back, but they weren't conventional wheels. They were much larger and wider than the wooden-spoked wheels that he was accustomed to. The outer edge of them was made of a strange black material that he couldn't quite identify. Toward the center of the device, there was a large box with a pipe rising straight up from it. The entire thing was built on a metal frame, on which the name "Seyon" was stamped.

Just then, Seyon walked up to them. "What's up? I see that you are interested in my _awesome _steam carriage."

"Why yes, but who are you?" Asked Flicker in a polite manner.

"I'm Seyon. You are Flicker, right?"

"Yes."

"And you are Flame, right."

"I'm _Princess _Flame." she replied.

"Wow! A real-life princess!" Seyon immediately put his hand up to his head in a salute. She returned the gesture with a confused stare.   "Where I come from, that's how we greet higher ranking officials, or at least we do in the military."

"Oh, I see. So you would say, "Wow! A real-life… whatever, then you would raise your hand up to your head like that?"

"No! I mean, well, maybe… uh… never mind." She giggled at his failure to find words. Seyon was quite enthusiastic in his speech though, as that was his nature.

"Say, Flicker, Would you like to take a ride in the steam carriage? Princess Flame can come if she wants to. Otherwise, I get to unpack! Exciting, huh?"

Within minutes, Seyon had unhitched the trailer, and the three were steaming out through the gate and into the green fields that surrounded the castle. The pipe on top was billowing out clouds of steam. Flicker was amazed by the grace and smoothness with which the carriage rolled along the ground.

"So, how does it work? I am an inventor myself, so I must know!"

"Dude, hang on. Just enjoy the ride. If we discuss this here, we'll probably bore poor Flame to death! I will tell you everything in excruciating detail when we get back to my, uh, colorful room… "

"You mean the one that Sir Blaze decorated?" said Flame in a laughing tone.

"Yes… _that_ one…"

Suddenly, a man in purple armor riding on a poorly constructed, peasant-propelled carriage pulled up next to them.

"Greetings, Camelhotians! It's too bad. By the time you make it back to Camelhot, it will be mine, and you won't have a home! My new plan is so evil that it can't fail!" His short speech was followed by a burst of evil laughter. He then took off, passing them in a sudden burst of speed.

"Who was that?" asked Seyon, obviously dumbfounded by his unusual behavior.

"He's Count Geoffrey, oppressor par excellance of the poor and weak, and he always tries to take over Camelhot!" said Flicker with a strong seriousness in his voice.

"He won't take it over so long as stop him before he can get there!" Seyon reassured them. "Hang on you two, we're gonna show him what a 350 horsepower Seyon built steam carriage can do!"

He quickly pulled a lever, and the carriage lurched forward. The speedometer climbed to 25 mph, but would go no further. They would certainly never catch Count Geoffrey at that pace.

"Don't worry, I've got a trick up my sleeve. You see, this thing has a super, ultra four-speed transmission!"

Flame turned to Flicker with a curious look on her face, almost expecting him to explain what Seyon was talking about, but he was as clueless as she was. Seyon pushed back the first lever and pulled a second lever. However, the carriage's speed was dropping.

"Dang it!" He turned around and explained what was happening.

"The transmission's been having problems ever since I last worked on it, so it's hard to put it in gear sometimes. It just takes some gentle persuasion." He pulled out a large mallet and gave a couple good wallops to a large metal box behind them. It soon responded with a loud "Clunk!"

"Here we go!"

He again pulled back the first lever, and the carriage quickly gained speed. They were soon doing 50 mph and were approaching Count Geoffrey very quickly. He pulled a cord as they approached him, and a shrill tone echoed through the forest. As they passed him, Seyon turned and shouted one simple word, "Righteous!" Flame and Flicker exchanged curious looks at one another, for this was a word that was unfamiliar to them. By this time, Count Geoffrey, who was stumped by this entire incident, was far behind them.

"I thought we were going to _stop _him, not just pass him!" said Flicker, who was somewhat in a state of panic.

"Right, right," replied Seyon, loosely admitting that he had forgotten that. He slowed the carriage down, and they pulled up right alongside Count Geoffrey. Seyon then explained to him what would happen in what was apparently some bizarre dialect of English.

"Dude, like, we can't all like, be havin' you goin' all Napoleon on our pad, man. That just don't sit right with us. Either you make like a tree and high-tail it out of here, or you'll, like, find out what happens when you lose two wheels. Wipeout! Do you catch my drift?"

Count Geoffrey was completely baffled. After thinking for several moments, he finally responded. "My plan is so devious that it can't fail. Give up! You can never win!"

"All right, dog. But don't you go cryin' to your mommy when you try to hang-ten on the dirt!" Seyon jerked the steering wheel, and the steam carriage ran into the side of Geoffrey's carriage, which was no match for its sturdy steel frame and tough tires. Sure enough, two of his wheels were torn off, and the carriage went tumbling. Flame, Flicker, and Seyon then sped back to Camelhot, and it took them only minutes to return the courtyard.

When they returned, Queen Griddle was waiting for them, and she was furious.

"Where have you been Flame? I was looking all over for you…" Just then, she caught a whiff of the situation. "Were you out with… _him?_" she said with all intended fury, pointing to Seyon. "He could have been trying to kidnap you, or even worse…!"

"I assure you stepmother, I was in no danger!"

"Nonsense!"

"Wait, don't I have a say in this?" asked Seyon, with a smile on his face.

"Quiet, you! Guards, take him away!" Queen Griddle shouted with flames spewing out from her mouth.

Immediately two guards, who seemed to appear from nowhere, walked up to him from either side, and they seized him by the arms. Just before they began dragging him to the dungeon, Flame walked up to him and spoke quietly, "Don't worry Seyon. I'll have this straightened up as soon as possible."

"Ah, well thank you, and I'll find a way to repay you. Until then…" The guards started to drag him away, and Seyon started singing, "The warden threw a party in the county jail. The prison band was there and they began to wail…" He continued to sing as he disappeared out of sight.

Flame turned to Flicker, who had been silent the entire time, and said with a strong sense of urgency in her voice, "We need to find a way to get him out of there! Come with me."

She took him by the hand and the two ran into the castle. She decided that the best option was to speak to King Allfire. She would tell him in vivid detail how Seyon single-handedly defeated Count Geoffrey, and she would even exaggerate the details a little where it would help. In no time, they were in the throne room. Flame, who was panting heavily, began convincing her father that Seyon needed to be freed.

Meanwhile, Seyon had finally arrived at the dungeon. He took a quick glance around, and made quick a comment to the guards based on his observations.

"I think this far nicer than my room. To stay in that room, with those colors, and… all that "art," is pure torture. I'm livin' in style, now!" The guards then threw him in the dungeon, closed the gate, and locked it. He was in there for only a couple hours when Flame came to the gate.

"It wasn't easy, but I talked with daddy and I convinced him to release you," she said as she held up the key.

"Flame, you are a real pal. I can't thank you enough. Plus, it was getting _very_ boring in here!"

Before she had a chance to unlock the gate, Seyon gave it a little push, and it opened. She stared at the open gate with a perplexed stare.

"But, how did you…?"

Seyon gave her a crooked smile. "If you see Flicker, tell him to meet me in my room. I know he wants me to discuss some of my inventions. In the meantime, I will try to stay out of sight of everyone." Before she could say anything else, he went on his way. He had just finished unpacking when Flicker arrived.

" 'Sup, Flicker. I take it you want to see some of my insanely awesome inventions?"

"Why yes. I'm glad to finally meet someone who understands these things."

"Well, I must confess. I'm not _really _an inventor, I'm an engineer."

"An engineer?" He had obviously never heard this term before.

"You see, an inventor creates something new. An engineer takes something that has already been invented and figures out a way to improve it, or finds a new use for it. However, I can probably do both pretty well."

The two were shut away in Seyon's room for hours, discussing almost everything from daily life at Camelhot to why the sky is blue. At the end of their meeting, a strong voice echoed down the hall.

"Flicker, where are you?!"

"I take it that that is Sir Loungealot, the lazy, um…. guy who you have told me so much about?"

"Yes. Excuse me, I must go. My squiring duties call."

"Hold on!" said Seyon, grabbing his arm. "I am going to make you a special offer. How would you like to be my personal assistant? You'll be doing all those things you love to do. It pays, um… let's see…. six shillings a day, or so. I think that's a good salary. I mean, I don't know a thing about all this sterling money. A pound is _certainly _not a pound of one-shilling coins. Oh, and food, board, and other stuff. You'll get that too. There are other things associated with the job, but I can't think of them right now. Also, you get every Sunday off, and most of Saturday off. However, you must quit your current position first. Now I want you to understand that if you don't wish to accept my offer, I will not be hurt. It's entirely up to you."

Flicker was caught off-guard by the idea. Sure, six shillings was much better than what he was making at the time, which was nothing, In fact, that was an extremely good salary. However, he wasn't sure that he wanted to give up his chance at knighthood.

"Well, I'll think about it."

"You do that. I assure you that I will treat you much better that the fat… I mean Sir Loungealot, does."

Flicker rushed out of the room, all the while weighing the pros and cons of this new offer. Meanwhile, Seyon went to speak to the king. He soon arrived at the throne room, and marveled at the fact that he actually found it on his first try. Allfire was sitting on his throne, speaking to another dragon whom he called "Chancellor" about something called the "Code of Chivalry". Seyon patiently waited his turn, as he didn't dare disturb the king. Then Allfire got out of the throne and walked up to Seyon.

"Ah! Seyon! I was hoping you would stop by. Flame told me all about how you defeated Geoffrey and saved Camelhot. Thank you so much! If we can ever repay you…"

"Don't worry about it. The very fact that I am allowed to stay here is more than enough. I do have something that I would like to ask, though."

"Anything at all, my friend."

"What would it take to become a knight of the Square Table?"

"Well, in light of the circumstances, I would let you join. However, code number 204, section 5 of the Code of Chivalry clearly states that only a _dragon_ can join the Square Table."

"Well, I guess I'm out. Thanks anyway." This insurmountable obstacle by no means upset Seyon. He fully expected such a thing. So with his spirits high, he returned to his room to formulate a plan… At about the same time, Flicker was having trouble completing all the tasks that Sir Loungealot had assigned to him.

"Flicker, this shield still has some scuff marks. A knight can't have scuffmarks on his shield! Take it back, and this time, do it RIGHT!"

"At once, sire." Flicker responded, as he usually did. He proceeded to polish the shield until there wasn't even speck of dust on it. At the same time, he was also preparing dinner for Sir Loungealot, sharpening his sword, and repairing several of his torn tunics. He continued to think about that offering, perhaps more strongly now than ever. He also thought about all the good times that they had had together, only to realize that he could count them on one hand. Sir Loungealot had always stolen his glory, and did nothing for himself, it was always Flicker that did everything. Finally he was satisfied with the shield. It was absolutely spotless. When he returned to Loungealot, with the shield in his hand, Loungealot shouted with anger, "Where's my sword, and my dinner, and my tunics! You should have had them done by now!"

"Well, at least your shield is clean." Loungealot carefully examined the shield, and nodded his head.

"There's a dent in it! A knight can't have a dent in his shield! FIX IT!"

Flicker paused for a moment, and then he _threw_ the shield on the ground. Loungealot was greatly shocked by this unusual behavior.

"That's it! I QUIT!" Flicker, bursting with confidence and self-esteem, walked out of the room. Loungealot, though taken back by this sudden burst of rage, thought to himself, trying to prove that he was not at all concerned, "He won't be gone long. He will come crawling back, begging to be my squire again soon enough. He'll have no other choice. There's no way that he'll find another job in Camelhot!"

When Flicker he walked out of the room, he saw Flame. "I thought you had things to do for Loungealot?" she said upon the realization that Flicker was never out of his room at this time.

"Well, I quit squiring for Loungealot. Seyon offered me a much better job!"

Flame's heart sank. She knew that now he had almost no chance of becoming a knight, and the only way they could be together was if he was a knight. Yet she tried not to show her despair. "Congratulations, Flicker! I just hope that your new job works out."

"I'm going to see Seyon right now. You can come if you'd like." The two strolled at a slow pace to Seyon's room. When they arrived, the door was slightly open, and there was music coming out of his room. They entered, and were confounded by the absence of musicians. The music seemed to be coming from nowhere! Seyon was sitting on a chair in the center of the room, apparently staring at a blank wall, and on a table to him sat a strange rectangular device. There was a large spinning black disc slightly off-centered on the thing, and there was a long, thin rod, with a pivot at one corner of the device. The end of it, which was clear, seemed to resting on the disc as it turned. Seyon had just noticed them at this time. He noticed that the two were staring at the device next to him, trying to figure out just what it was.

"You like my turntable? That's what's playing the radical music that you're hearing. It reads sound in the grooves of the record with a needle, sends them to that bodacious device over there," he pointed to flat metal box across the room that had what appeared to be several glowing glass bottles sticking out of it, "which makes those signals large enough to drive the speakers, which actually make the music." He then pointed to two towers on either side that had three shallow cones embedded in them.

"That's absolutely amazing!" said Flicker, as he continued to examine the turntable. He then touched the "tone arm," as Seyon called it, which seemed to be dancing above the record. They were startled by a loud SCREEEECH!

"Flicker, one of the problems with this immensely awesome turntable, as with any turntable, is that it doesn't like vibration, or being touched. It's best just not to touch it while it is playing." Seyon stated.

Flicker then remembered what he came to Seyon for in the first place.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm going to accept you're offer! I quit squiring already."

"That's great, Flicker, but it's already been filled."

He had a nervous look on his face. He couldn't go back to Loungealot. He had nowhere to go other than here. It would seem that he would loose everything.

"Nah, I'm just joking. I don't think there are many people that have your mad skills. Congratulations, man!" said Seyon. Flicker breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, another powerful voice echoed down the hall. "Flame, come here! I want you to meet someone!"

"I have to go. Stepmother Griddle will be furious if I don't show up _immediately!_" She darted out of the room with lightning speed.

"Well, Flicker, I have another position that you might be interested in. I went to see Allfire about becoming a knight of the Square Table…

"But you can't join them! Code number 204, section 5 clearly states that…"

"Only a dragon can be a knight of the Square Table, blah, blah, blah." Seyon took the words right of his mouth. "Allfire already gave me that speech. So anyway, I have formed a group called the League of Knights so I can still be somewhat like a knight. It's intended for all those who can't be knights for one reason or another. We aren't _really_ knights, but we do all the things that knights do. Would you like to join it?"

Flicker didn't even stop to think. "Of course I'll join!" It had been his lifelong dream to be a knight, and this might be the closest he'll ever get to being one.

"Ah, excellent! You are now Sir Flicker. I felt kind of strange being the only member of the League, wielding total authority, having meetings with myself, arguing with myself; it was just not right."

"Will we be the only ones in it?" Flicker asked, as he didn't want to be in a group of just two knights.

"I'll try to recruit more people. There may very well be an opening for Flame…"

"But Flame's a princess; a lady!"

"WHAT?! Flame's a… woman?!" replied Seyon, trying to look surprised. Flicker was very astounded, and even shocked, by this statement.

"Nah, I'm just messing with you. I wanted to see what you would say, and I found out that it was nothing. Fascinating! But honestly, I think she has what it takes to be a knight. Her heart is in the right place, as I found out earlier, and I believe that's what matters most."

"But what about her safety? If she was to be injured, or, heaven forbid, _killed_, then we would probably suffer the same fate from Allfire and Griddle!" Flicker had a certain seriousness in his speech that was rather uncharacteristic of him.

"I've got it covered. We will use a special type of armor, made out of something called carbon fiber. It's about the a third the weight of regular armor, and more than twice as tough! I wish I had a piece to show you, but I am too lazy to make a piece right now. Well, it's getting late, and I am going to bed. That is your bed over there. I just hope we can sleep at night with all these colors!" The two went to bed, and fell asleep almost instantly.

Seyon woke up at around nine o'clock the next morning. Flicker had apparently been up for quite some time already. He greeted Seyon, who was still in bed, with breakfast. Seyon was quite confused by this act, but then he remembered that Flicker had told him that Loungealot always commanded him to make Breakfast for him.

"You know, this is nice and all, but making breakfast for me _isn't_ required! When I said that the job included food, I meant that I'll have a cook make food for both of us. And just how long have you been up?"

"About three or four hours now."

"Are you crazy? You work for me, now. You _can_ sleep in! I don't expect you to do anything until I get up."

Flicker was quite stunned by these ideas. He had never had such privileges before. Seyon was certainly treating him better than Loungealot ever did. Now was a good time to ask Seyon what Flame had asked him a little while ago.

"Flame asked me if I could go with her to town. May I?"

"Funny you should ask that. I do need you to do a couple things in town. Here's a list and some money. There's a little extra so you can get a snack, or whatever. Just try to be back by noon. Oh, and don't mention anything of the League. I will inform Flame in due time." Flicker looked at the list, and there were six items on it, spanning only a quarter of the page. Loungealot's shopping list was usually pages long. It was quite a break! Flicker was overjoyed as he dashed out of the room.

The two had been traveling for about an hour, along with Loungealot, who was still bitter toward Flicker, when they finally arrived at Weston-super-Mare. Flicker immediately went to the store, while Loungealot and Flame went on their business. He was shocked by the amount of time he spent there; nearly fifteen minutes. When Loungealot had a shopping list, it usually took hours to find everything. He went to find Flame and Loungealot after he had finished, and at the time, they had finished their tasks and were on their way to the store to find Flicker, so they found each other rather quickly.

"I'm starving! Let's find a restaurant. There has to be some good food in this town, somewhere." Loungealot said in response to his growling stomach. The three went to a nearby building that said "Ye Olde Restaurant," which apparently was a common title in those parts. They sat down, and within several minutes a waiter who spoke with a heavy French accent greeted them. "Bonjour! How may I assist you?" The three placed their orders and waited patiently.

"I must say Flame, my new job is great!" Flicker declared to her, almost rubbing it in Loungealot's face. "He gave me a shopping list, and it had only six things on it. It took me no time to retrieve them all." He then explained all the things that had happened that morning.

"Well, I'm glad that it's working out for you!" answered Flame, who was still somewhat upset by the idea.

"Yes. Aren't we _all._" Loungealot added with a sense of sarcasm and anger. By that time, their food had arrived, and they fell silent as they consumed their food. It was several minutes after they had finished their meal when the waiter returned.

"Would you like some desert?" asked the waiter. Flame and Flicker declined, but Loungealot graciously accepted, as though his huge meal wasn't enough. "Yes, I would like a blueberry pie." The waiter shortly returned with the pie. Suddenly he tripped, and the pie splattered all across Loungealot's face. Flicker and Flame tried to hide their laughter.

"You idiot! You should watch were you're going!" shouted Loungealot.

"I am so sorry sir, let me wipe that up." replied the waiter, who attempted to clean him up, but in doing so, only made the mess worse.

"Let me bring you another pie." The waiter returned with another pie. Loungealot had cleaned himself up to the point that he was satisfied. The waiter, however, tripped again and the pie again splattered over his now clean face. Flame and Flicker burst out laughing this time. Loungealot got up and left without saying anything. The waiter stayed at the table, and then he said in familiar voice, "Ha HA! I got him good, didn't I?"

"Seyon! But what are you doing here?" Flame asked.

"Long story short, I was bored, so I thought I would liven up your day. Quick! Lets get out of here before he returns! I need to change out of my brilliant disguise. Meet me at the Beast. It's parked behind this building."

"The Beast?" Flicker stated curiously.

"That's the nickname that I gave to the steam carriage." He left immediately, for he was in danger of being discovered by Loungealot. When the two got there, Seyon showed up almost immediately.

"But wait! What about the bill?" Flicker just couldn't run out on the bill. It was very much against his nature.

"I took care of it." Seyon reassured him. "Let's go back to Camelhot." As they steamed along in front of the building, they saw Loungealot, desperately trying to find that waiter. Seyon called out to him, "We'll meet you at the castle!" Loungealot glared at them as they went on by. It took them only ten minutes to get back, as opposed the full hour it had taken them to get there. When they arrived, Seyon gave direct orders to Flicker, so he would not be around as he talked to Flame. "Flicker, go up stairs and, I don't know, take a nap, or something." He walked away. Seyon then turned to Flame, and made a proposition. "You know, yesterday, I formed a group called the League of Knights. It's for all those who want to be a knight, but can't be one for some reason. I would be very happy if you would join. Flicker joined yesterday."

Flame, though caught off-guard by the question, had secretly wanted to join the ranks of knighthood herself, but she didn't _dare _admit that. "Well, I'll think about it…"

"All right. Just knock on my door at five o'clock, and give me your decision. We would love to have you." The two parted, and Seyon returned to his room.

When he arrived, he saw Flicker, who was holding up a record, trying to figure out just how it worked. "All right, the League has its first meeting at five o'clock. Anyway, the Beast's transmission has been getting a little touchy lately. We're going to rebuild it, and that should keep us occupied until then. Remember, this is what I hired you for."

Flicker was excited by the idea. He couldn't wait to see how that worked either. Seyon handed him a toolbox, and the two went to the courtyard to fix the Beast. He asked for a five-eights socket and a half-inch ratchet, but he had to explain just what they were to Flicker. Seyon loosened several bolts that held the top of the transmission on, which was designed specifically so it could be worked on without too much hassle. It took both of them to pry the top off so they could have a look inside. As soon as they removed it, Seyon exclaimed, "Ah ha! Here's the problem! I was wondering where that went." He reached into the box and pulled out a tool, though now covered in oil, identical to the one that Flicker gave him. "It was caught in the linkage that allowed the transmission to actually change gears," he explained. The two put the Beast on blocks and allowed it to run for a little while so that Seyon could check the transmission for damage, but fortunately there was none. They set it back down and bolted the lid on back on the thing. Flicker was astounded by what he had seen in that large box. "How did you figure that out?"

"Remember, my friend, I'm an engineer. I didn't invent the transmission. I just adapted it to suit my own purposes. Now let's go." The duo packed up and proceeded toward what was now officially Seyon and Flicker's room. The route took them right by the room in which the Knights of the Square Table frequently met, just as they were doing at that time. Allfire noticed him across the table and called for him. "Seyon, there you are! I don't think you've met the knights. Come here!"

Seyon walked in, though he was quite filthy. The knights immediately introduced themselves. "It's nice to meet you, Sir Gallahot, Sir Blaze, Sir Hotbreath, Sir Burnevere, and… Sir Loungealot. I am Seyon, and Flicker is now my hired assistant." By this time, the news of how Seyon defeated the evil Count Geoffrey had become well known, and he was therefore well-received by the all the knights, except for Loungealot, of course. "Well, I'd love to stick around, but I need to get cleaned up. See?" Seyon raised his hands, which were blackened by grease and oil. Seyon and Flicker continued to their room.

"Just remember, the League has a meeting at five o'clock in our room," said Seyon to his faithful servant, "Be sure you don't miss it. You're free until then." Flicker decided he would go to Flame's room, as he really did not have anything to do. Seyon went to his room to work on their special armor, and by 4:30, he had made significant improvements in it. He then decided that he was done, so he started to set up the meeting. He organized all the paperwork, which was a blank sheet of paper. It wasn't long before Flicker showed up, as he wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be late. The two sat at a table, staring at the clock, waiting for the five o'clock mark. Seyon then started early.

"Well, it's pointless just sitting here, doing nothing. Let's get started. First of all, let's get the basics of the League down. All motions are brought to a vote. I, however, may only vote in the event of a tie. Hmmm… that's pretty much all I wanted to cover. There's got to be something else…" He looked at the blank piece of paper in front of him, which he had placed there to make it look as if he had this all planned out.

"What about rules?" Flicker was always one for rules, and especially the Code of Chivalry.

"Oh… _rules._ I'll figure those out later, as in, in a couple of minutes."

"Well then," Flicker looked around the room, trying to find something to talk about. He finally asked, "What about our swords?"

"I've been designing them. Actually, I have one prototype that I made a while ago. Let me get it." Seyon went to the closet and dug around for a little bit. "Ah ha! Here it is." He held it up for Flicker to see. It was not like any sword that he had ever seen before. It was long and thin, and of a strange black texture. The only part of it that seemed to be made of metal were the edges. "Now this, Sir Flicker, is made of carbon fiber. Give it a try!"

He picked it up, and was immediately astonished. It was far lighter than any other sword, yet it felt very stiff and strong. After a couple swings, he realized the sword's superiority. It just seemed to effortlessly slice through the air, with a speed and responsiveness that was unprecedented. "If you think that's amazing, then watch this!" Seyon took the sword, and pushed a little button on the bottom. The metal edge that seemed to be so firmly embedded in the sword came right out. "Now all we have to do is replace it. That way, you never have to sharpen the sword. Just throw out the old edge and put a new one in." He went back to the closet and pulled out another strip of metal that looked the same, and he tried to put it in. However, it fought back. Seyon wrestled with the thing, cursing and yelling at it. Finally it was in place. "Here," said Seyon, handing the sword to Flicker, "This one's yours. I will make one for myself when I get a chance." Flicker couldn't believe that he had been given such and amazing piece of equipment. He was almost speechless. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Seyon left the room completely. He found Flame standing outside the door. "So, have you made a decision?"

"Yes. I have decided to join." She knew that this could be an excellent way to get closer to Flicker.

"Oh good! I am so happy, Flame. However, I must discuss this with the knights. They must approve all new members." Seyon walked back into the room, and it could not have been more that fifteen seconds before he came back out. "All right, you're in! You may enter."

She followed him inside, and saw Flicker standing in the middle of the room, practicing with his new sword. "Are you two the only members?"

"Yes, Flame. Now we must start your initiation. Due to your rank of princess, you start at squire. After one promotion, you'll be a knight."

"What rank did Sir Flicker start at?"

"He started out as a knight, since he was the first member, other than me." He could tell by the look on her face that she was not at all happy with this idea. "To advance to the rank of knight, you must take a thirty question test." She reluctantly agreed to take the test, and Seyon handed her a piece of paper. She went to work, and was satisfied with her answers in ten minutes. He checked them, and then came to a conclusion.

"Well, it takes twenty out of thirty to pass, and you got… seventeen out of thirty. Today, however, all the questions you got wrong were… extra credit! Congratulations, Sera Flame!"

"Wait, _Sera_ Flame?"

"Yes. That's the title that we give to all our female knights. Sure, I made it up right on the spot, but that doesn't make it any less meaningful!" Seyon then turned to Flicker and made a cunning remark. "Check it out, man. Our number of knights, other than me, _doubled_ in one day! That's incredible!"

"Is that all I need to do?" She was astonished by the ease of joining.

"Oh, yeah. You must take the oath of the League." He went to a bookshelf and pulled out a copy of Camelhot's Code of Chivalry, which Flame hated with a passion. He held it out to her.

"All right. Place your left hand on the book, raise your right, and repeat after me."

"Very well."

"I, and state your name."

"I, Princess Flame,"

"Do hereby solemnly swear,"

"Do hereby solemnly swear,"

"To ignore every word in this book,"

"To ignore every word in this book,"

"And take heed not of its many passages."

"And take heed not of its many passages."

Then Seyon suddenly threw the book out the window. "That's what we think of those "formal" orders of knighthood. We are guided by our own will and desire." She was elated by this thought, for it was exactly what she had hoped to hear.

"However, I must lay down some ground rules, now that you're a member. Number one. I am great. Number two. If for any reason you doubt my greatness, refer to rule number one. Number three. Well, there is _no_ rule number three. Number four. Always, ALWAYS obey rule number three. Number five. You must, with grace and passion, pursue your ignorance of the Code of Chivalry. Number six. Obey the Golden Rule."

"Right. Treat others the same way that you would like to be treated," she said, demonstrating her knowledge of the rules.

"No, the _other_ Golden Rule. Where I come from, we call it the five-second rule."

She had to think for a moment about that one. "Oh, right. _That_ Golden Rule."

"Well, that's it. Let's get on with our meeting. The three sat down at the table, when Seyon burs out, "Ah! I nearly forgot to mention that I put out some ads for the League. That is how we get our tasks."

Just then, the door burst open, and Cinder and Clinker rushed in.   "Fools!" shouted Seyon, "Knock first, _then_ you may burst in."

"Message for Seyon!" exclaimed Cinder. Seyon picked up the note and then proceeded to read it. "Gnarly! The League has its first task. Something about a home invasion in Canterbury. It could be dangerous, so I'm going to take measurements of you two and myself so I can make our special armor, and I should have all three sets ready by tomorrow morning, when we will set off. I want all of us to be safe in our first assignment." They all agreed to undertake the mission.

He had no problems taking measurements of Flicker and himself, but he was quite hesitant about taking measurements of Flame, since he had never done anything of that sort on a woman before. Yet as he collected the data, she stood there calmly, not questioning anything that he was doing. It still seemed to take about three times longer than it did with Flicker. Finally he was done, and by now it was late in the evening.

"Okay Sera Flame. Normally, I would offer room and board to you, but I think you would rather stay in your own room. Well, goodnight, and sleep well. We have a big day tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Seyon."

Seyon went to his room, where Flicker was already asleep. He worked nearly nonstop until two in the morning, sorting out the measurements and making the armor. In addition, he also made two more swords and three shields. "I just pray that the armor fits," he muttered to himself. He crawled into bed and passed out.

It was again nine in the morning when he woke up, and Flicker was just then getting out of bed. "See! You're finally learning!" Seyon commented. "Well, it feels strange to get up so late." he returned. By the time they had finished getting ready, Flame arrived, dressed in her usual attire.

"Excellent! Now that all of us are here, we can make sure the armor fits." To Seyon's relief, the armor fit their owners perfectly. Flame, however, was unsure of the strange black woven material. It seemed to be too light to offer any real protection.

"What is this made of?" she asked.

"It's called carbon fiber. Don't let the weight fool you. It is extremely durable. I should show you!" He retrieved a square of the same material and placed it on the pillow on his bed. Next, he got a crossbow, loaded it, and shot the unsuspecting plate, which sent it flying. "There. That ought to be proof enough for anyone!" He held up the plate, which had a little scuffmark from where the bolt had hit. She was silent. "Now were not going to put on our armor until we get there. I know it's great and all, but it's still by no means comfortable! What do you say we get going?"

Flicker and Flame loaded up the Beast while Seyon was figuring out just how to get to Canterbury. "This doesn't make any sense! I wish they could make these maps easier to read."

"Here. Let me help you," suggested Flame. She took the map out of Seyon's hands, flipped it over, and gave it back to him.

"Oh! _Now _this makes sense! I swear, they should put an arrow on these maps that says, 'this way up.'"

"You'd still get it wrong." she commented.

Seyon glared at her, and then he said, "'Nuff said. Onward to Canterburgh!"

"It's Canterbury." Flicker corrected.

"I know what it's called. Let's go!" They were soon steaming down a road encompassed by beautiful, lush scenery.

"Let's see Flicker..." Seyon put the Beast in second, and the transmission responded perfectly. "High five, man! Our greatness cannot be equaled!" Flame turned to him and gave him a nasty look. Seyon then said, "Yes, you were included in that statement." "That's better!" she replied.

They traveled along at a speedy pace for about an hour when Seyon declared, "Hmm… It would seem that the Beast is low on fuel and water. We'll stop in the next town. They chugged up a steep hill, and there was a town on top of it. They then proceeded to seek out fuel and water. After the three retrieved the required things, Seyon exclaimed, "All right! Let's go!" Flicker and Flame both pointed to a sign that said, "Welcome to Canterbury." "Oh yeah. I knew that. Let's find that house."

They donned their armor and found the house in no time, mostly due to the fact that Flame was leading them. There was an old and gray lady sitting outside, whom Seyon greeted. She was overjoyed to see them.

"Oh thank goodness! My house has been taken over!"

"May I peek inside?"

"Do whatever you need to do to get my house back!" Upon these words, Seyon cautiously opened the door, glanced inside, and closed the door in one quick motion. He then whispered to Flame and Flicker. "I think she meant infestation, _not_ invasion. I have _never_ seen so many rats before in my life! Well, there's only one thing to do." Seyon pulled his sword out, raised it high in the air and shouted "Charge!" He disappeared into the house instantly. Flame and Flicker didn't move. "How long do you think he'll be in there, Sera Flame?" "No more than two minutes." she answered.

Within about two minutes, Seyon came out, trying to catch his breath. He turned to them and gave them a good glare. "You know, when I say charge, it's supposed to be a _collective_ effort, not and individual effort! We are _all_ supposed to go in, swords drawn, ready for a fight!"

"Well, we knew we would fail, so we just stayed outside." Flicker stated.

"Let me think of a new plan…" Seyon thought for a little while. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "I've got it!" He rushed back to the Beast and returned with a fife. Then he explained what he was going to do. "I'm going to imitate the pied piper and I'll draw them out with this here fife!" He started playing a lively tune as he marched into the house. Seconds later, they heard a bunch of crashing and banging. Seyon again came rushing out, holding a fife that had been chewed into several pieces. "I'll tell you. The legend of the pied piper is absolutely _not_ true! Time for plan c." He was lost in deep thought. Suddenly, he turned to Flicker and smiled.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"I'm absolutely positive." Seyon reassured him, as he strapped several large blocks of cheese to his armor.

"Wait. Why can't Sera Flame do this?"

"I know she can, but I chose _you!_ You should feel proud."

"So what exactly am I supposed to do?"

"Okay. So you're going to go into the house, and the rats will see the cheese, and thus, they will follow you. There's a cliff about fifty yards that way."

"It's _that_ way." Flame stated.

"Right. So the rats will chase you, and you will run like crazy, and then you'll jump off the cliff. They will follow you to their doom. You, however, will fly up to safety. Got it?"

"I think so. Just let me compose myself." Flicker started to take several deep breaths.

"Remember, Sir Flicker, the key to success is the element of surprise." Seyon paused for a second, and then he shouted "Surprise!" He quickly pushed Flicker into the house and waited. Flame and Seyon heard a loud scream, and Flicker shot out of the house, running for his life. There were hundreds of rats following him. The two saw him dive off the cliff, and sure enough, the rats continued to follow him off the cliff, and they had all fallen off in no time. A few minutes later, Flicker returned, very much out of breath.

"That was perfect!" exclaimed Seyon. He looked inside the house once more, and described the scene. "Well, all the rats are gone, but they left numerous, uh… "presents." However, this is the League of Knights, not a cleanup crew. I'd say this is a job well done."

Out of nowhere came the old lady. "Are they gone?"

"Yes ma'am, and it's all thanks to Sir Flicker here."

She peered inside and then gave them one more task. "Would you be so kind as to clean up the mess they left?" Seyon didn't stop to think. He instantly hired a cleanup crew.

The three of them returned to the Beast, and headed home, feeling good about the deed they had just done. The League of Knights had made its mark, assuring us that there are many more adventures to come.


	2. Castle Edinburrough

Castle Edinburrough

By Cameron Whitaker

It had been several hours since Flame, Flicker, and Seyon returned from their first mission in the League. The trio was in a meeting, as it was five o'clock, discussing the possibility of future missions. Seyon immediately started off. "Well, our task today was not the kind of task that I had been hoping to get, but it's a start. Now for today's business." He paused for a few seconds before continuing. "That concludes today's business."

"So, what _is_ today's business?" asked Flame.

"We have no business for today. Otherwise, I would have talked about it!"

"What are we doing here, then?" Flicker inquired.

"Nothing, I guess. Well, obviously there is no need to be here, so let's ditch this joint!" Seyon responded. Flicker and Flame stared at him, since they did not understand his bizarre choice of words. "That means that we can go!" he reiterated.

"Before you all leave, I had something nice airlifted here, and it's only for the dudes in the League! Flame, change into your bathing suit, and meet us out in front of the drawbridge. Flicker and I must change into our bathing suits as well." Seyon stated. She was confused by the request, but she decided to go along with it. The three met at the drawbridge within ten minutes. Seyon looked at Flame, and then made a quick comment on her appearance. "You have purple hair? That is _awesome!_" She smiled at the remark. "All right. Follow me, knights!" he commanded.

Flame and Flicker followed him into the woods. Flicker was concerned by the fact that Seyon was leading them. "Are you _sure_ you know where you are going?" "Don't worry my friend, I have it _in the bag_. See, here it is!" In a clearing in front of them was a small wooden structure, made of dark-stained cedar. In the middle of the structure was a large tub of water, with a layer of steam hovering above it. "What is it?" Flicker and Flame asked simultaneously.

"It's my semi-portable, hot tub, gazebo… thing! It came by helicopter several hours ago."

"What's a helicopter?" Flicker could never pass up an opportunity to learn about something new. Seyon, however, did not respond. Instead, he climbed into the tub, and stated rather lazily, "Now _this_ is the life! Come join me, you two." They both got into the "hot tub" and had quickly become as relaxed as he was. However, this bout of serenity did not last long.

Four knights surrounded them, and Seyon immediately recognized one of them. "Hey, Count Gregory. What brings you here?" "It's Geoffrey!" Geoffrey snapped. Seyon, however, seemed completely unconcerned about the imminent danger, even though it was clear that Geoffrey wanted revenge for his defeat by Seyon just a few days ago.

"And just who might you be?" he asked as he looked at Flame. He did not recognize her, as she was not wearing her usual attire.

Before she could respond, Seyon answered his question. "Her name is Ember. She's an orphan who is new to Camelhot." He gave her a quick wink. She didn't understand his logic, but she played along anyway.

"Anyway, you are all coming with us!" replied the Count.

"Why would we want to do that? It's too nice in here." Seyon said, almost stupidly.

"I mean, we are going to _kidnap _you three."

"You can't kidnap us. Were not kids. You should say that you are going to _adultnap_ us!" Flicker and Flame, however, did not join in on Seyon's levity. They knew that they were in for trouble, for Geoffrey was now quite angry. "Evil Knights Numbers One, Two, and Three, seize them!" The three were pulled out of the hot tub.

"This is a drag!" Seyon commented, as they were being taken to Castle Threadbare. "I wanted to go to bed early tonight! But oh well… these things happen…" The dragons looked at him strangely. The castle was not at all far, so they arrived very quickly.  
Geoffrey's evil knights took them straight to the dungeon, where the three were locked away. Flame had a burning desire to know why Seyon had hid her identity, and Flicker did as well. "So, why did you say that I was Ember?"

"Well, I knew that Gregory…"

"Geoffrey." Flicker corrected.

"Right. I knew that _Geoffrey_ would hold us up for ransom. Had he known that you were Flame, he would have had a strong bargaining point. Since he thinks that you're Ember, a nobody, he has lost that upper hand. What a foolish fool!"

Soon Geoffrey showed up at the gate to explain what he had in store for them. "Now that you all are here, I'm going to put you up for ransom. The price? Nothing less than…

"Yah yah. Castle Camelhot. We all know want you want! Personally, I think that you're crazy. I mean, if I were you, than I would at least want all of England! You have no ambition!" Seyon declared.

"Well, you three aren't worth that much, so I doubt that I'll get anything for you. If I don't get my asking price of Castle Camelhot, then I'll feed you all to the alligators!"

"Well, that's not a nice thing to say!" Seyon said with his usual levity. Geoffrey had stormed off by this time. Seyon turned to his knights, and he could tell that they were startled. "Don't worry. I think that he's all talk and no action." That, however, did not comfort them at all. Seyon thought for a few moments, and then was struck by an idea. He then said, "Well, I guess we should just leave."

"But how can we escape? We have almost nothing!" Flicker exclaimed.

"I've got it covered." Seyon reached into the pocket of his bathing suit, and pulled out a strange device. There were what seemed to be several strips of metal in the center of it. There were two outer plates, both of which were covered by red plates. One of the red plates had a shield with a cross in the middle of it embedded into the plate. "Wait! You took that into the hot tub?" asked Flicker in an almost shocked tone of voice.

"It's waterproof!" Seyon explained. He then pulled on one of the strips of metal in the center, and a long, thin rod flipped out. He then put it into the keyhole of the gate, and gave the tool a couple twists and turns. Suddenly, the lock went "Click." "After you," he said, as he opened the gate. Flicker and Flame were silent as they walked through the open gate. They quietly walked through the corridor, and at the end of the hall, Flame heard a faint noise. "Footsteps!" she whispered. Flame and Flicker proceeded to run, but Seyon stopped them. "I have an idea! Follow my lead."

He continued walking the same way as he did before, with the dragons following him. Suddenly, the three spotted Evil Knight Number 3. Seyon made no effort to remain hidden. "How do you do?" he asked politely as the knight walked by them.

"Duh, fine! How do _you_ do?" he replied.

"Fine, fine. We're just escaping. Don't tell Geoffrey."

"Duh, okay." He went continued on without so much as a second thought. Flame and Flicker stared at each other in disbelief. "How did you know that would work?" Flicker asked Seyon.

"Well, when I first heard the footsteps after Sera Flame pointed them out, I could tell by their tone that it was a big, tall, stupid Evil Knight. I knew that such an _insanely_ obvious statement would surely not make him think!"

"Wow! I can't believe that you can tell so much about a person just by the sound of their footsteps!" Flame stated, as she was awestruck by this skill. 

"Well, you see… I _completely_ made up that part. The truth is that I just tried something stupid, and it miraculously worked. I thought for sure that we would end up in the dungeon again, though luxurious and comfortable it may be…"

The three continued through Castle Threadbare without a single mishap, and then they headed to Camelhot, a fairly short trip, all the while amazed with their escape. As they entered through the gate, Seyon looked at his arm, as though his watch was there, but it quite frequently was not. "Just in time for dinner!" he exclaimed. "Flame, change into any sort of clothing. Meet us in our room as soon as you're done." They went their separate ways.

"What are we having for dinner?" Flicker asked.

"Ah, it's a secret. The only thing that I'll say is that it is a very popular food where I come from."

"Anyway, where did you come from? You haven't told me anything about you're past!"

"Flicker, my friend, I shall reveal that to you in time." They continued to their room, where they changed. Seyon also started a thing he called a "barbecue." Flame arrived shortly, wearing her usual dress.

When she entered, she could smell wonderful aroma of what promised to be a delicious meal. Seyon was on the porch, wearing a strange outfit instead of his usual T-shirt, shorts, and sandals. He caught sight of her, and exclaimed, "Check it out! I figured out that there is _another_ way to open the door to the porch!" She saw that the doorframe had not moved, and there was broken glass all over the ground. "Oh, if you're not wearing shoes, then you best not go _near _here," he added. She decided that it was best not to ask what happened.

"What are you cooking?"

"It's a secret. You'll find out soon enough!"

"And just what are you wearing?"

"See, I'm a Yankee, circa 1776! Dig it! Now I told you to wear any sort of clothing, and yet you wore your usual dress. You're no fun!"

"But this is what I am _supposed_ to wear!"

"You're in the League now! You can wear whatever you want. Come on, show some skin for once! Or scales, as the case may be… Just please, _please _don't show up wearing absolutely nothing. If you do, I swear, I'll paint you purple, and I'll drop you by helicopter into Castle Threadbare! Well, not really… but I'll threaten to do it! Okay, so maybe I won't threaten to do it, but… Ah! Patties are done!" He picked up several circles of meat off the grill and took them to a table where he assembled the meal. He then placed several plates, each one with a single type of food on it, on the table, and sat down. "All right! Dig in!"

"So, what do you call these?" Flame inquired.

"Back in my homeland, we call them hamburgers!" Flicker took out a fork, a device that he had recently invented, and began eating with it.

"Flicker! You aren't supposed to use your _food impaling apparatus_ to eat these, you are supposed to use your hands!"

"Oh, you mean this? It's called a fork." Flicker explained

"I know, but I like to call in a _food impaling apparatus_. I think is sound more League…ish." The three quickly ate their meal, and much to Seyon's delight, the dragons loved the hamburgers. Suddenly, there was knock at the door. It then flew open, and the door crashed into the wall with a loud "bang!" Cinder and Clinker rushed in.

"There you go!" Seyon said. "See how polite that was?"

"Message for the League." Clinker said in a very boring tone. Seyon snatched the letter from them and tore it open. He read it silently, and then he shouted, "Righteous! Now this is what the League was _meant_ to do!" He then stuffed the letter into his pocket. "We are supposed to travel to Castle Edinburrough in Scotland tomorrow morning. There, we will meet King Maclaren, who has some special tasks for us!" He paused for a moment. "Wait… I hope this doesn't involve politics. The _last_ thing I want to do is get involved in politics! Kudos to you, Flame, seeing as how you were born into it."

"It's not that bad." she responded. Seyon replied with a strange look.

"So why don't you like politics?" Flicker asked.

"You see, I don't like having power. I just like to be a stranger in the audience, not the one giving the performance. Also, I am _not_ ambitious, I have no desire for wealth, and I don't want fame, like, at all! Isn't that just groovy?"

"No offense, but you are a very strange person!" Flicker added.

"People tell me that all the time… Personally, I prefer the term, "crazy." _Bodacious_, yo! See, if you're not crazy, then there's no place for you in the League, because I, a crazy dude, started it!"

"So, what exactly do you mean by crazy?" Flame was quite puzzled at this point.

"Well, you don't have to be _insane,_ you just have to act on impulse, without thinking. I mean, if you _try_ to be crazy, then you'll look like a, um, regular person who is… trying to act crazy! You dig?" The three were quiet for a few moments, and then Seyon broke the silence with one of his many crazy ideas.

"I wonder what coffee and soda taste like together!" He ran over to a large metal chest, which he called a "refrigerator." He pulled out a can, and then ran over to his nightstand, where he pulled out a carton that said "coffee" in big letters on the side. The dragon knights watched, as they wanted to see how this would turn out. After mixing the two ingredients in a glass, Seyon took a sip. "Well, despite the fact that it's absolutely _terrible, _I'd say this isn't half bad! Maybe some milk will help…"

He went back to the refrigerator, pulled out a jug of milk, and poured it into the glass. After taking a sip, he came to a conclusion. "This is _awful!_ I've never tasted anything so foul!_"_ He poured the contents of the glass out, and through the glass across the room at a window. It went "crash!" as it went through the window, and more pieces broken glass fell onto the ground. Seyon then turned to Flame, with a smile on his face.

"And _that's_ how I broke the glass in the door!" Flicker then explained the situation further. "You see, Seyon was reading a book, and I don't know what he read, but he abruptly yelled, 'That's not how that works! You _fools_!' He threw the book at the door, and it crashed through!"

"I could have _sworn _that the door was open! That's just not cool! Curse whoever cleaned that glass so well!" Seyon shouted.

Flicker then whispered to Flame, "I'll tell you. He has walked into that door _so_ many times, so I don't think he's lying." She laughed quietly at that fact. 

"Wait! I'm the one who cleaned that glass so well! Curse me!" Seyon cried out.

"So that explains the door, but what about the window?" Flame saw no motive for Seyon's apparent love of shattering glass.

"Ah, yes, that one… Remember when I threw the Code of Chivalry out the window? Apparently, somebody put glass in that window recently."

"No, Seyon. You threw the book out _that_ window!" Flicker stated, as he pointed to a window that was obviously open.

"Oh! That explains it!"

For no apparent reason, he changed topics. "Say, I have a gift for you two. It comes courtesy of the three leaders of the League combined, which are me, myself, and I." He then whispered to them. "Personally, I don't like me too much, but myself and I are pretty good."

He walked over to the closet and pulled out a large black box. He took it to the table, and opened it for them to see. Set in the finely laid velvet interior were two strange objects, both identical to one another. Each one must have been about a foot long, with a metal tube that ran down the center of a gorgeous piece of wood. The wood ran the entire length of the device, though it made a somewhat sharp bend further down. Under this point was a misshapen ring. The end was covered with a gleaming brass plate, and just above that was a finely inlaid gold decoration. There was a lever that stuck out the side of the device right before the bend in the wood, which had a piece of what appeared to be flint in a clamp at the top.

Seyon picked up one of the objects, and upon a glance, he said, "Here you go, Flicker. This one's yours." Flicker saw that his name was stunningly inscribed in the side of the device that they had not seen. Flame's name was just as brilliantly inscribed in hers.

"I went through heck to get these. You'd better enjoy them!" Seyon said in a jokingly serious voice.

Flicker had been examining this strange device for quite some time, but he just couldn't figure out what it was. He finally gave up and asked, "So, what is this? Is this something that you invented? How does it work?"

"Slow down, there! Were not playing 20 Questions! Or are we…? No. We definitely aren't. That thing that you are holding is called a flintlock pistol. In the League, it'll mostly be used as a status symbol, but it can be used as a means of protection. I have one too!" He pulled out pistol that looked very much like theirs form a draw, though it was considerably much more worn.

"Well, it's too late in the evening to show you how it works. Sera Flame, you best be gettin' to bed. Meet us here at four o'clock tomorrow morning. I know it's early, but Maclaren wants us there in the morning. I reckon that it'll take us at least two hours to get to Edinburrough, even in the Beast!" Flame took his advice and traveled to her room.

Flicker and Seyon were just about to go to sleep when there was a knock at the door. Seyon beckoned the stranger to enter.

A tall dragon who was dressed in a strange outfit entered.

"Ah, Blaze! You did a tubular job on this room! What brings you here?" Seyon said, as he immediately recognized him.

"Well, I heard about the League…" He said in his usual high-pitched voice. "And I saw your armor. It's nice and all, but it lacks pizzazz! May I please spruce it up? You don't want people thinking that you all are still in the Stone Age!"

"No, I guess not. That would _totally_ suck!" Seyon replied. "Come to think of it, we need a good image! I'll tell you what. I'll let you decorate our armor _if_ you can have it back to us by four, tomorrow morning!" Blaze jumped up and down with excitement, and then he hurried back to his room with all three suits of armor.

"Seyon, I think that Blaze could ruin our image. You saw what he did to this room!" Flicker stated.

"Yah. I don't think that this will turn out well, but I figured that anyone who wants to help should be allowed to! Plus, it's free. And that's a _big_ plus! Come to think about it, I hardly know any of the other knights. I'll talk to them someday."

"Seyon, there is one thing that I want to talk to you about."

"And what might that be?"

"Well, when I took this job, you promised me six schillings a day. However, you have never paid me! Now don't take this the wrong way; I'm not trying to sound pushy."

"I guess that I forgot to mention that you don't get your wages _daily_. You'll get a week's salary once a week, on payday, which is… now tomorrow!"

"One more thing. I know that I'm not supposed to ask this, but where do you get your money? Six schillings a day is a _very_ good salary. Only a few can afford to pay that much." Flicker tried to sound very polite in this question.

"Ha! Six schillings a day! You're making ten!" Seyon so surprised Flicker with that sentence that he couldn't respond. "You get paid for service in the League, don't you know? I _will _eventually tell you where I get all this money, but not for a little while. It's only fair, right? You and Flame have mentioned very little about your past. Now let's get to sleepin'. We want to be well rested when we meet King Maclaren! The last thing we want to look like is a bunch of zombies…" With that said, the two went to sleep.

It was early in the morning when they awoke to a rhythmic knock at the door. Seyon slowly got out of bed and dragged himself over to answer it. When he opened it, he could make out the tall figure of Blaze in the dim doorway. "I have finished decorating your armor!"

"Thank you, Blaze! If you decorated the armor as well as you decorated this room, then the League is finished!" Seyon seemed to be quite excited about the thought of having well-decked armor. This, however, was only a mask. He took the armor and closed the door. Seyon made sure that Blaze had left.

"Well, Flicker, let's see what damage he did." He threw a switch, and a device called a "light bulb" brilliantly lighted up the room. "Ah! My eyes! They _burn_!" Seyon exclaimed with a fake tone of distress. Flicker's eyes were also adjusting to the light. When they both could see, they looked at the armor.

"Oh, great. So now we won't look like zombies, we'll look like… hippies!" Seyon laughed. The armor was now a turquoise color, with flowers painted all over it. Just then, Flame entered the room, ready to go. 

"Here is your armor!" Seyon said jokingly as he handed it over to her. She was still squinting in the bright room, but she could still tell that it was different.

"My god! What did you do to it? Oh, wait. It was Blaze, wasn't it?"

"Yah, well Blaze asked for permission to "garnish" the armor, and foolishly, I accepted. I think you and Flicker will agree with me when I say that we shouldn't show up to Edinburrough looking like…. _that!_ Wait a minute; you're still wearing that same dress! I'm telling you, change your style!" She did not respond.

"So, should we start loading up the Beast?" asked Flicker.

"Sure, go ahead. I need to gather some items to take with us."

It was not long before the three were ready to embark on their journey. It was still early in the morning, and the sun had not even begun to rise. They were sitting in the "automobile," another name that the Beast was known by, surrounded by darkness.

"I hope you brought one of those "light bulbs" with you!" Flicker stated.

"Of course. I'm not _totally_ stupid!" He pulled on a knob on the dashboard, and the path in front of them became perfectly visible, as though the sun was shining on it. 

"See, I've got it all figured out!" At once the light went out, and the darkness quickly took its place. Seyon pounded on the dashboard, and the light came back on.

"There we go! Onward to Scotland, land of the Scots!" He slowly opened the throttle, and off they went. With Flame navigating, the first half of the trip was completely uneventful. The second half was different. The sun had rising by this time, revealing a cloudless day. The three were cruising down a Scottish road at a speedy pace, when a loud "bang!" shook the Beast. It fought Seyon at the wheel, but he slowly regained control, and eventually coaxed it to a stop.

"Well, we've got a flat tire, but don't worry. I have a patch kit and a pump, so I can fix it. Flicker, I need your help. Flame, just stay there, unless you want to get filthy!"

"Hold on. Why can't I help you? Are you saying that a woman can't do the same things that you can do?" she snapped, and almost scared Seyon.

"Hold your horses. I didn't mean it to sound like that! If you want to help, then you are _more _than welcome to. I just figured that you wouldn't want to get your dress filthy."

All three jumped out and inspected the tire, which happened to be one of the two in the front. Seyon was shocked by the sight.

"Holly _cow!_" There were only a few remnants of rubber on the bare rim. The tire had apparently been shredded to pieces! Seyon still seemed completely unconcerned, however."

"I'll get the patch kit." Flicker said.

"Don't bother. There is _no_ way that we can patch this! Not even if we made a new tire out of patches! Right now, we're stranded! Let me think of a way out of this…"

Flicker then thought of something. "I have an idea. You have _four_ tires and the back. You surely don't need them all! Why don't we just replace the blown one with one of those?"

"I wish we could, but the bolt patterns don't match. Oh, wait… That's right. That was only on the Model 3 steam carriage. This one's a Model 5! Let's get to it!"

He opened up a box that was bolted on the back of the Beast, and he took out several tools. Then he handed a tool called a "lug wrench" to Flame. "Here you go. I need you to remove the lug nuts off the blown wheel. Flicker will explain how to do that. In the mean time, I'll lift up this _awesome _automobile so we can get off the other tire."

All in all, it took them ten minutes to complete the entire operation, and then they continued on.

"So, do you think that the Beast will make it?" Flame inquired.

"Well, she's pulling to one side, but other than that, I'd say that she'll make it!" Off in the distance, against a cloudless sky, Seyon saw a grand castle perched gracefully on a green hill. Surrounding it was a quaint town. It was truly a beautiful sight. "Castle Edinburgh!" Seyon shouted.

"It's Edinburrough." Flicker was used to correcting Seyon's speech.

"Castle Edinburrough!" Seyon shouted again, as if he wanted to keep the same mood. They quickly approached the castle. It was surrounded by a moat filled with crystal clear water, and in front of them was a heavy drawbridge that was raised. A man with a heavy Scottish accent appeared in a window and spoke to the adventurers.

"Who goes there?"

"We are members of the League of Knights! The king has sent for us." 

"Ah! We've been expecting you!" Suddenly the drawbridge opened, and the all the knights steamed across it. Inside the castle was a lush garden, equal to that of Camelhot's. It was a truly a model of a castle.

The man who had greeted them suddenly appeared. "I am William Macalister, the chancellor of King Maclaren."

"Ah, it's good to meet you! I am Seyon. This is Sir Flicker, and this is Sera Flame."

"It's nice to meet you all. Let me show you to the king."

The chancellor led them into. They passed through a long and tall corridor, which was lined with paintings of various people. At the top, there were numerous stained-glass windows, and each one let in a beautiful shaft of colored light. Finally, they passed through a intricate doorway and entered a large room, which must have been the most gorgeous room in the castle. Flame, Flicker, and Seyon then stood before the king. He was a human, just like Seyon.

"Your majestic…ness, we have come upon your request." Seyon stated.

"Ah, I've been waiting for you!" Maclaren then jumped down from the throne to inspect the three knights. He was much bigger than any of them.

"You are…" Maclaren said, expecting each of them to complete this sentence.

"Sir Flicker."

"And you are…"

"Seyon, the leader and founder of the League." Then, the king approached Flame.

"Ah! And just who might you be?"

"I am Prin… I mean, Sera Flame."

"Hmm… You are the only female knight that I've ever heard of. Perhaps I should give you a little test… Tell you what, Sera Flame, if you beat me in a sword fight, then I'll give each one of you 10 pounds! If you lose, however, then you owe me nothing."

"May I speak with Seyon first?"

"Of course!" She talked to Seyon for a few minutes. He had only one response. "It's up to you. You can refuse or accept without hurting me at all." She continued to think, and then she accepted the challenge. Maclaren gave her a special practice sword, specifically designed for such an event. He would also use the same type of sword.

"I'm ready!" Flame declared.

"All right. Let's begin!" Maclaren shouted. Fortunately, Flame had secretly practiced sword fighting with Flicker. They both drew their swords, and the battle began. They fought for a good five minutes, with neither one having an upper hand. Finally, a strong blow knocked Flame to the ground, and her sword slipped out of her hands, leaving her weaponless. Maclaren put the tip of his sword up to her neck to show that she had been defeated. He quickly sheathed it, and reached out a hand to help her up.

"That was very good! I am completely impressed. Honestly, I never knew that a lady could have so much skill with a blade!"

In the background, Seyon turned to Flicker and whispered, "You know, I have _never_ used a sword in my life! Perhaps I should start learning..." Flicker just shook his head.

Maclaren walked over to Seyon, and gave him the League's next task.

"Now for the reason that I called you here. You see, I'm building a moving fortress, and you and Sir Flicker are going to help me design it. After all, I hear that you two are very talented in this field. My kingdom has been attacked so many times recently. I just want my subjects to be safe!"

"Very well. Flicker, Flame, come over here!" The two immediately appeared in front of him. "Okay, so here's the plan. Flicker, you are going to stay with me. We are going to help King Maclaren design a mobile fortress. Isn't that just awesome, to the _max?_ As for you, Flame, you can either stay with us, or I can give you some money so you can have a ball in town. What do you say?"

She thought about that for a moment. "I'll think that I'll go to town. I'm sure that I will be bored out of my mind if I stay here!"

"Okay. Just be back by four o'clock. If we finish earlier than that, then we'll come and find you." Seyon have her a small pouch of money and she left.

Maclaren led Flicker and Seyon to an enormous room. In the middle sat a very large metal box that had numerous cannon ports sticking out the side of it. In the middle was a single huge cannon. That was all it was at that point.

"Now I need you two to help me figure out how to get it moving. We thought about using hundreds and hundreds of men, but that wouldn't be practical, for they would be in the line of fire! If you still have extra time, then we also need some sort of control system to work the fortress."

"Ha ha! Now the ball's in _my_ court!" Seyon exclaimed. "Mobilizing stuff happens to be my specialty. May Flicker and I take a look inside?"

"If it will help you, then of course!" The duo went inside and inspected every aspect of the device. Seyon smiled at Flicker, and he could almost tell what Seyon was thinking.

"You're thinking about steam power, aren't you?"

"No, no. Of course not. I'm thinking that we'll make this thing milk powered! Or better yet… dirt powered! That's it! A _dirt powered engine_! Wait… no. I'd better just stick to steam…"

"I think that that would be a good idea. I don't think a dirt powered engine will work too well."

"I think that you're right, Flicker." They went back outside, and Seyon had long since come to a conclusion.

"Flicker, do you have any ideas?"

"No. I'll leave all of drive system to you. I'll figure out the control mechanism."

"Fair enough. Remember, we need steering, and throttle. That's about it, actually. Oh, and brakes! Dear god, we can't forget about brakes!"

Maclaren walked up to them. "So, what do you have?" Seyon immediately started.

"Okay. I have it all figured out. You'll need double-cylinder, double-acting twelve-inch bore, eighteen-inch stroke, high-pressure Seyon-built steam engine! That will be… _wicked!_ You'll also need a differential, treads, a boiler, and I think that's it. Dear god! I almost forgot about the brakes!"

"Now, where can I get all that stuff?"

"Listen, if you give me the money now, then I'll have that all the stuff here in about two days. That's _far out, _is it not?" In the mean time, Flicker had been drawing out his control mechanism, and was ready to present it to the king.

"Sire, I have the control board designed. We have a lever here for the brakes, one for throttle right here, and a wheel in the middle for steering. They are all connected to these little valves, which control a vacuum. The vacuum will go through these tubes where they will be connected to pistons, which will control whatever needs to be controlled."

Seyon could tell that Flicker was nervous, as his hand was shaking quite a bit as he pointed all the devices out to the king. "Wow, vacuum control! That is sweet! I must say that I _totally_ underestimated you, my friend. That stuff is pretty heavy-duty!" Seyon's speech made Flicker feel much better.

"Well, I guess I should give you the payment for the parts." said Maclaren. "Macalister!" his voice rang loud and clear, and the chancellor was soon there. "Fetch me five gold bars from the coffers. That should cover all the parts!"

Macalister disappeared, and he came back just minutes later with a heavy bag, which Seyon happily accepted. Maclaren gave them some pamphlets.

"Give these to anyone whom you think might be interested in helping me finish the fortress. The job pays very well, and it's for a good cause." 

"All right, Flicker, let's go!" After they went out the door, Maclaren said to Macalister, "Here are the designs that they came up with. We should have all we need to complete the fortress!"

Flicker and Seyon went to pick up Flame in town, and after that, they could travel back to Camelhot. However, they had _no _idea of her whereabouts. So the two steamed into town, keeping a sharp eye out for her. Seyon tooted the whistle a couple of times. She could surely recognize that tone. Sure enough, it wasn't long before she found her way to the Beast.

"I thought that was you!" she exclaimed. Seyon could sense a slur in her voice.

"I take it you had a little too much wine?"

"You told me that I need to be crazy…er!" Her slur was much more obvious in that sentence.

"Well, you're doing a good job of it! See, Flicker, you could learn a thing or two from her! Now let's go to… that direction!" Seyon shouted. Flicker grabbed his arm and moved it so it pointed in the _correct _direction.

"Onward, to Camelhot!" He then started singing. "We're knights of the round table, we dance when 'ere we're able. We do routines and chorus scenes and footwork impeccable…"

They had been traveling for a while, when something struck Seyon.

"Hey! I never showed you how to use the pistol!" He pulled it out and took aim at a tree as they passed by. He pulled the trigger, and a loud "bang!" pursued. They could see large chunks of bark fly off the tree. "Now I only have one shot, and I am not about to reload it while I'm driving, so that's it for the demonstration. Pretty boss though!" Seyon had gone through this "demonstration" too fast for the dragons to learn anything.

It was late in the evening when they arrived back at Camelhot.

"All right, you two. Let's go to my room!" Seyon stated. He saw that Flame was asleep, with her head resting on Flicker's lap.

"Ah! Well Flicker, why don't you carry Flame to her room? In the meantime, I'll take care of those parts that Maclaren wanted us to order." Flicker was not at all comfortable with the idea of carrying her, but he did so anyway He just had to stay out of sight of the queen. Seyon went in the opposite direction.

Flicker was gone for a good half-an-hour. When he returned, he found Seyon sitting on his rocking chair, with the turntable playing a nice, slow song next to him.

"I thought that you were going to take care of those parts! Why are you just sitting there?"

"Trust me. I already did. They will arrive at Edinburrough by air tomorrow night! Isn't that just insanely unreal?"

"How did you do it?" Flicker could not solve this mystery himself.

"It's a… trade secret. Yah. You'll learn everything eventually. Anyway, I'm going to pass out these pamphlets to the other knights. I'm going to Loungealot's room first. Would you like to come with me?"

Flicker always enjoyed going into Loungealot's room, now that he was no longer under the control of Loungealot. Therefore, he accepted.

"I almost forgot to give this to you!" Seyon gave him a bag with a bunch of coins in it.  
"That's your pay for the week. It's three-and-a-half pounds." Flicker was quite surprised by that amount of money. He had never been given that much money all at once. Seyon picked up some of the pamphlets and headed off with Flicker.

"Ah, Loungealot's room. It's hard to believe that I'm not bound to him any more."

Seyon knocked, and a voice answered from inside. "What is it? I'm busy!"

"I have something that you might be interested in!" Suddenly, the door opened, and Loungealot was cold toward the visitor. 

"Oh, it's _you!_" 

"It is me? I don't know. Flicker, am I me?"

"I'd say so."

"Yes. It is almost definitely me! Anyway, I have this pamphlet for you. It's a good way to get some money!" Loungealot snatched it out of his hand. This somewhat angered Seyon, so he quietly fought back.

"Say, are things going all right without Flicker? You're not having any problems getting anything done, are you?"

"No. Of course not! Everything's fine!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! I don't miss him!

"Oh, okay. Flicker just told me that he was thinking about working for you again…" Seyon winked at Flicker, who immediately understood the signal.

Loungealot had now been broken. He pleaded to Flicker in a pathetic, sobbing way.

"Please! Come work for me again! I can't do anything without you around! PLEASE!"

"Flicker, you know, you can quit working for me at any time. If you want to go back to Loungealot, you're more than welcome to."

Flicker looked at Loungealot, who was kneeling on the ground in front of him, begging him to return. "I'm sorry, Loungealot, but I work for Seyon now, and not only is he my boss, he is also my _friend!_" The two walked proudly walked away, with Loungealot on the ground, sobbing.

They headed to the other rooms, and passed out the pamphlets to all the knights. Now, Seyon had to speak to Allfire. They were soon standing in the throne room, were Allfire was sitting, doing absolutely nothing. He quickly spotted them.

"Ah, Seyon and Flicker. I hear that you've got a good league of knights going. What's it called again?"

"The League of Knights!" Seyon answered.

"Oh! So what can I do for you?"

"We want to give this pamphlet to you. It's an invitation to work for King Maclaren for a good sum of money. Also, it has good political connections and stuff!" Seyon gave the parchment to Allfire, who put it in a safe spot.

"Before you two leave, I must warn you. Griddle found out that Flame is in the League, and she is _not _happy. I'd steer clear of her if I were you two." Just then, Griddle appeared in the doorway, and noticed Seyon and Flicker immediately.

"Gasp! _You_ _two_ are in _big_ trouble! Get over here!"

Seyon turned to Flicker and shared an excellent idea. "Well, in light of the circumstances, I'd say that we should… _run!_" They darted out of the room before Griddle had a chance to stop them. The two arrived at their room, which was in the opposite end of the castle, in no time at all.

"Okay! I'm beat!" Seyon said as he was trying to catch his breath. "Let's go to bed." He and Flicker crawled into bed and quickly fell asleep. They both awoke at about the same time, at about eleven o'clock. Seyon gave a quick overview of the plans for the day.

"Well, Flicker, I have absolutely nothing planned for today. Just make sure you tell Flame that we'll need to go back to Edinburrough later today, so she needs to be ready."

During this large gap of time, Seyon decided to replace the destroyed wheel of the Beast with the only spare that he had, and that only killed about half-an-hour. He then decided to ask Flame and Flicker to join him in the hot tub. He could only guess that Flicker was still with Flame in her room. He cautiously crept up through the corridors, making sure to stay out of sight of the killer queen. He finally approached the door to her room, and he could hear the two faintly through the door. He knocked on it.

"Sorry, we're busy right now!" Flame replied from inside. Seyon's eyes opened wide.

"You two better not be doing what I _think _you're doing! Well, if you are, then I won't disturb you. I'm going to my room. If any of you need me for something, then meet me there." He headed for his room, where he found little to do, so he got into his rocking chair, and turned on the turntable. He then dozed off to the light music. He awoke to a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Flicker walked in, with a smile on his face.

"Flame and I have a surprise for you!"

"Really? May I see it?" Flicker went back out the door, and he entered again a few seconds later, followed by Flame. Seyon looked at her and whistled.

"See! Now _that's_ what I'm talking about!" She was wearing her usual dress, but it had been altered. It was now much shorter, and the collar had changed from running straight across her neck to dipping down to her chest in a v-shape. Overall, Seyon was stunned by her appearance.

"So, I take it you two were working on that, _not_ kissing?"

"Well, we were worked on it most of the time; we didn't spend _that_ much time kissing!" she said with a sense of sarcasm.

"Yah! You are finally becoming a true knight of the League! Say, I earlier I realized that all the knights are gone, but to where? They, like, just disappeared! That's not right! That's just not right!"

"They left early this morning to go to Edinburrough."

"Oh. Well, I say that we should be making our way over there!" Seyon suggested. Flame and Flicker packed everything that they could possibly need into the Beast while Seyon refueled it. They left just before five o'clock, and it took them just two boring hours to make it there.

"Ah ha! The package has arrived!" Seyon exclaimed. Just outside of the castle was an enormous wooden crate. "Well, let's go tell the king." The three entered the castle and walked down the same corridor that Macalister had led them through the previous day. At the end, however, the large wooden door to the throne room was closed, and they could hear Maclaren speaking inside. They listened closely.

"Ha ha! Now that those idiots are working on the fortress, it will be finished in no time! Then, I shall conquer all of England and Scotland!"

The knights gasped collectively. "Well, at least _this _guy has some ambition! Seyon joked. Just then, the large door opened, and Maclaren spotted them instantly.

"Um… Your parts have arrived!" Seyon said.

"Seize them!" Maclaren shouted. Suddenly, two guards appeared in the doorway.

Flame, Flicker, and Seyon ran for their lives.

"Quick! To the Beast!" The guards were far behind them, but they were still following. Finally, the entered the courtyard, and the three jumped into the vehicle.

"Hang on!" Seyon opened the throttle wide, and the wheels spun on the ground. They were gone in a flash. They were soon approaching one hundred miles per hour when both of them begged him to slow down, so he eased the throttle back. By this time, they were at a safe distance from the castle.

"We've got to go back and stop him!" Flame cried out.

"We can't just like, go chargin' back in there! We need some stragety! I mean, strategy!" Seyon replied. They slowly steamed back to the castle, and Seyon explained what needed to be done.

"All right. Flicker, I want you to find all of his blueprints, and destroy them. Flame and I will go to construction room, or whatever it's called, where we'll tell them all about the plan. Flicker, do you think you can handle your job on your own?"

"I think so!"

"Okay! Now we can't wear our armor, as we want to be as quiet as possible. You two have your pistols loaded, right?" They both nodded, and soon they went their separate ways. Flame and Seyon had no troubles entering the castle, and they crept down numerous halls and through several doorways without incident. There seemed to be nobody in the castle! At last, Seyon peeked around a corner, and could see the door to the construction room.

"Ah ha! There it is, Flame!" Seyon whispered, but she did not respond. "Flame?" He turned around, and he saw that she was very pale, and then she collapsed, with a dart sticking out of her neck. Seyon immediately got up and tried to run, but then he felt a pain in his neck. Then, in his eyes, the room appeared to darken, and it seemed to be spinning. He passed out on top of Flame.

Meanwhile, Flicker peered into a room, and he found Maclaren's drawings lying all over on a large desk. "Eureka!" he said quietly to himself. He ran into the room and threw all the plans on the stone floor, where he set fire to them. With that deed done, he proceeded to find the other knights. He snuck all over the castle for a while, but couldn't seem to find them anywhere.

At this time, Seyon finally came to, and Flame was right next to him. They were locked in a cage, which was suspended by a thick rope over a tank of water. The two had been stripped of their clothing, leaving them in nothing but their underwear. Maclaren was standing next to the tank of water.

"You two finally came to! I'm impressed that you made this far. However, both of you can easily compromise my mission, so I must finish you two off. Then I'll deal with Flicker."

Seyon had just now realized that he was wearing nothing but his underwear.

"Yah, you're going to kill us, blah, blah, blah. But why do you have to embarrass us in the process? That is just plain not cool!" 

"What do you plan to do to us?" Flame nervously asked.

"I'm glad you asked that. That cage will slowly be lowered into the water by this winch here, and then you will drown!" Maclaren replied proudly.

"_That's_ clever!" Seyon stated sarcastically. He continued to show his famous lack of concern.

"You two have fun in there! So long!" Maclaren walked out of the room. The cage slowly descended further and further.

Seyon could tell that Flame was terrified, so he tried to comfort her with his usual levity. "See, now you're showing a little _too _much skin!" He stopped for a moment, as that did not help. "Don't worry. I'll get us out of this. Let me think of a way to escape. Just think. When we get back to Camelhot, we'll throw ourselves a party!" Seyon once again failed in his attempt to make her feel better, and he was quiet for a while.

"That's it! I've been so stupid. You're a _dragon! _You're all we need! Come on, do what I do." He started rocking the cage back and forth, and she joined in. Soon it was swinging quite a bit. "Okay, now burn that rope, right…. now!" She blew out a large volley of fire, and the rope soon broke. The cage flew to the side, and crashed into the ground next to the pit of water. The impact broke the cage to the point that they could squeeze their way out. They found their clothes on a table nearby, and the two knights quickly dressed themselves. They both agreed that their next task was to find Flicker.

They snuck through several more corridors and rooms, but failed to find him. They then walked through a dark section of the castle, and suddenly a hand reached out from the darkness and snatched Flame, and it covered her mouth so she couldn't scream. Seyon, however, continued along the path, completely unaware of what had just taken place.

Flame was led into a nearby room, where she discovered that it was Maclaren who had seized her. He then forced her into a corner of the room, where she was easy prey.

"You won't get away with this!" she snapped.

"I will, once I take care of you, Flicker, and Seyon!"

Flame reached into a special pocket in her dress, where she kept her pistol. However, it was gone!

"Looking for this?" Maclaren pulled out a pistol, and he waved the side with her name in front of her.

"Ha! You don't even know how to use it!" Flame said with a sense of confidence.

"Of course I do. I own four myself." He carefully aimed it at her and pulled back the lever. When I count down to zero, the League will be shy one member!" Flame closed her eyes tightly as he started. "Three… two… one…" Then a shot rang throughout the castle, and she jumped at the sound. Flicker was nearby at this point, and he felt a chill surge through him. He rushed to find the place where it came from.

Flame slowly opened her eyes, and then she looked down at herself, only to realize that she was _unscathed! _Suddenly, Maclaren collapsed in front of her, and Seyon was standing in the doorway, with a smoking gun that was shaking violently in his hand. She rushed over to him and threw her arms around him, with tears pouring from her eyes. She spoke quietly to him in a sobbing voice. "Thank you so much Seyon. I can _never_ repay you for this!" He was still frozen with his arm out, pistol in hand.

Just then, Flicker entered the room, and Flame ran over to hug him. Seyon was finally regaining his senses. At that time, Macalister entered the room, and saw Maclaren lying on the floor.

"Did you do this to him?" the chancellor asked Seyon.

"Yes. I did." Seyon slowly replied. He thought for sure that he was done for.

"Thank you so much! Maclaren treated his people poorly, taxed them into poverty for his own benefit, and then threatened to kill anyone who would stand in the way. You have done us all a great favor! I will make sure that you are rewarded." Macalister replied, much to Seyon's surprise.

"Now I will take care of everything here. You three can go home." Seyon, Flicker, and Flame were greatly shaken by the entire situation, so to them, there was no better reward than to be allowed to go home. It was about nine o'clock when they finally made it back,

and the three went straight to bed. Flicker and Seyon woke up late in the morning when Cinder and Clinker threw the door open, which again smashed into the wall.

"Message for Seyon!" Cinder exclaimed. Seyon took the letter. 

"Hey! It's from Macalister!" Flicker, go fetch Flame. He returned shortly with her following close behind. Seyon carefully opened the letter, and read it aloud.

"Dear knights of the League. Thank you so much for service to Edinburrough. However, it has become apparent that Maclaren had no heirs, so we decided that…" His voice drowned out into a mumble.

"Well? What does it say?" Flame asked.

"Oh no! No!" Seyon shook his head as he said this, and then he started laughing.

"Well?"

"Get this. The letter says, '…So we decided that there was no person more fit of holding the title 'King of Edinburrough' than you, Seyon.'" Flame and Flicker were stunned.

"You are now _King_ Seyon! I can't believe it!" Flicker exclaimed.

"Dude, that sucks. Remember how I wanted to stay out of politics? So now I become _king_." He sighed. "Well, I can't refuse. Those people are counting on me. I guess that that was my destiny. But _still! _Well anyway, thank you both. This would not have happened if it wasn't for you two."

Seyon quickly sent a response stating that he had accepted the position. The power of the League had now increased substantially, thus giving them more freedom and privileges than ever before; all in all, a scary thought.


	3. Scarlet Fever

Scarlet Fever

Seyon was pacing up and down the numerous halls of Camelhot, thinking about what the future could bring. Just a couple of hours ago, he received the letter that sealed his fate. He kept thinking to himself, "I am _King _Seyon! Man that's weird…" He was staring down at his feet as he walked, and suddenly he bumped into someone. He looked up, only to find himself staring face-to-face with Queen Griddle, and he could tell that he was in for it.

"Um… Hello Queen Griddle… Sure is nice weather we are having…"

"I know what you have been doing! I saw what you did to Flame. To think that she is hanging out with a bunch of peasants…"

"Well, actually…" That is all Seyon could say. Griddle took him by the shirt and dragged him to the dungeon. She threw him in there with a great deal of force.

"Well that wasn't nice!" That was Seyon's reaction.

"Ha! I hope you rot in there!" The queen left immediately. Seyon turned to the two dragons who had obviously been in there for quite sometime. He was already quite familiar with them.

"I'm back! I just wanted to keep in touch, you know."

One of them responded, "We have a new game! Would you be interested in playing?" Seyon agreed, as there was little else to do.

Meanwhile, Flicker was rushing all over the castle, trying to find him. He had been given a message, and it needed to get to Seyon quickly. On the way he bumped into Sir Burnevere.

"Sir Burnevere! Have you seen Seyon? I have an important message for him!"

"Ah… Sorry Flicker. Honestly, I have hardly seen Seyon at all. He's quite an elusive lad, apparently." Flicker continued on. He ran into several other knights, but they could not help either. He went down one last hall, and he could hear Seyon's voice. Flicker hurried to where the voice was coming from. As he got closer, he could make out his speech.

"Go Number Three! GO! NO! Don't turn around!" It was obviously Seyon. Flicker was soon standing in front of the gate, and he could see that Seyon was participating in some sort of event. Flicker was spotted almost instantly.

"Yo, dog. Check it out! It's my pure-bred super cockroach!" He brought a cockroach to show to Flicker. It was no different from any other one, except for the fact that it had a three drawn on its back.

"So what were you doing with it?"

"I was racing it against their obviously inferior roaches. Check out the prize over there!" He pointed to a very large mushroom sitting on a stool. It was grey with blue spots all over it, but Flicker could not tell whether it was poisonous or not.

"I _must _win that mushroom! It is _unbearably _awesome! I know absolutely nothing about it, but still! My only goal in life is to win it!"

Flicker just shook his head, as this was typical of Seyon.

"Anyway, we have been given another task…"

Seyon interrupted him. "I'm sorry, dude, but I'm not ready for any more tasks. Tell them that… Let me think of a good reason… Ah ha! You tell them that we are all on vacation in… Antarctica! Yah! I'll go with that."

"Very well. You know, since you are now King Seyon, you can demand your release. You don't have to stay in here!"

"Oh! Then tell Allfire that I demand my freedom, and bring that letter that Macalister sent declaring me to be king as proof of my position. Now if you'll excuse me, I _still_ want that mushroom!" Flicker left, and Seyon continued that race.

Flicker did as he was told, and in less than half-an-hour, he convinced Allfire that Seyon was in fact a king. He quickly arrived at the dungeon, where the fierce cockroach race for the lovely mushroom was still continuing. At once, Seyon jumped up and shouted, "YES! I am victorious! Behold the winner of the sacred mushroom!" He proudly picked it up and headed toward the gate.

"Well, Seyon, I've convinced them to release you."

"Thanks! Let's get out of here. I'm sure that I have something to do." The two walked down the hall, which took them right by the throne room. They could faintly hear Allfire talking to someone as they drew nearer. Seyon and Flicker stopped before the entrance, as they did not want to be seen. They could not see inside the room, but they could hear what was going on.

"Well, I'm sorry, but we have no room for you." Allfire stated. "Seyon took our last empty bedroom. You'll have to find some other place to live."

A female voice that they didn't recognize replied. "I understand. Thank you anyway."

Just then, a lady dragon wearing a colorful dress walked out of the room where Seyon and Flicker could see her. She was maybe twenty or twenty-one years of age, and she had a build that was very similar to Flame's. Her nose was perhaps shorter than hers, and her scales were of a brighter shade of yellow. Her eyes were a deep blue, but her shaggy hair was probably the most striking feature. It was a brilliant shade of red, and it was cut just short enough so it would not get in her eyes. It continued down to the bottom of her neck on the back of her head. Seyon went over to greet the stranger.

"Hello! My name is Seyon. I heard that you were trying to find a place to stay. You're more than welcome to stay in my room. I have more than enough space for you!"

"Thank you so much! Wait… So _you're_ Seyon? I've heard a quite bit about you!"

"Really? Who squealed? I was trying to not be famous! AH!" She giggled at his seemingly pointless frustration.

"Oh! I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name is Scarlet."

"I take it that you got that name from your radical hair?"

"No. Not at all. I got that name from my gnarly hair!"

"Ha! It's certainly radical, maybe even bodacious, but definitely not gnarly!" Seyon replied.

"I beg to differ!" Scarlet responded. Both of them broke out laughing. She then turned to Flicker, who had been silent.

"So, who are you? You haven't said a thing!"

"Um… Why yes… Hello… My name is… Flicker… It's nice to meet you…" He tried to avoid looking her in the eyes.

"Flicker is my right-hand man. He is also member of the League of Knights." Seyon added.

"Well…. Flicker… it is… a pleasure… to meet you!" She mimicked his nervous speech, and then kissed him on the cheek. He blushed in response.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere, or I'll never find you two again!" She walked away.

"Man, Flicker, I swear I could hear your heart beat!" Seyon joked.

"She's beautiful…"

"Well, I don't think she's your type. Besides, I believe another fine lady has her eye on you, and I think that you'd be much happier with her than with Scarlet."

Flicker turned to him and gave him a curious look, but Seyon said nothing else. Scarlet returned shortly.

"All right!" Seyon exclaimed. "Follow us to our room, which, from now on, will be your room as well."

"I can't thank you enough. Say, what are you holding?" She had just noticed the mushroom that he had fought so hard to win.

"Check it out!" He held it up for her to see.

"Wow! That is one _unbearably_ awesome mushroom!"

"That's exactly what I said!"

"So, what are you going to do with it?"

"Well, I have _no _idea. All I know is that I wanted it for some reason, even though I was aware of the fact that I would never do anything with it!"

"Why don't you eat it?" She asked.

"It could be poisonous! That would totally suck if it is."

"Totally! Can I have it?" Seyon saw no use for it, so he happily handed it over to her. She immediately took a bite out of it. Suddenly, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed. Seyon and Flicker were greatly alarmed, so they quickly kneeled down to help her. At once she opened her eyes.

"Ha! I fooled you, didn't I?" She got back on her feet in one quick motion. Seyon and Flicker got up as well, and she continued.

"You see, this type of mushroom is a delicacy! I can't believe that you had one; they are insanely rare."

"Well, whatever." Seyon stated. "Let's go!" Scarlet followed Flicker and Seyon as they headed towards their room. Seyon noticed that Flicker had been silent the entire time, which was quite unlike him.

"Flicker, dude, you haven't said a thing. What's up with that?"

"Yes, what _is_ up with that?" Scarlet asked as well.

Flicker gave into the pressure. "I… get nervous when I'm around you, Scarlet." She smiled.

"Yes. That seems to happen quite often…" she said. By that time, they had arrived. When they entered, Scarlet was shocked.

"I sure hope that you didn't do the décor on this room yourself! Seriously, pink with purple curtains? That's just not right! I cringe at the thought!"

"Me too, Scarlet, me too." Seyon added. Just then, he turned to Flicker. "Ah! I almost forgot! Tell Flame that I have to make a trip to Edinburrough. I'll be leaving around four o'clock. If she wants to come, then she must be ready by then." Flicker happily took off. Seyon sat down on Flicker's bed, and Scarlet sat next to him. Seyon then gave some sleeping options to her.

"Okay, now there are two beds. This one is Flicker's, and that one over there is mine. You can choose either one. If you don't like the thought of sleeping with one of us, than one of us will sleep on the floor. What do you say?"

She thought for a moment. "Well, I know that Flicker feels weird when I'm around him, so I _could _sleep with him…"

"Just to make him feel uncomfortable?"

"Exactly!"

"Ha! I like the way you think, Scarlet!"

"I'll be nice… I'll sleep with you."

"Very well. Before I forget, there's one more member of the League that I haven't told you about. Her name is Princess Flame. I believe that she is in love with Flicker, but I can't be sure. Just don't flirt with him when she's around."

"That's no fun…"

"Tell me about it. I think it's hilarious whenever you do that!" Seyon responded.

Scarlet inched her way closer and closer to Seyon, and then she spoked very softly to him. "But it is okay if I flirt with you, right?"

Seyon was caught off-guard. "You… actually want to?" She nodded. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Seyon answered it, and Blaze entered. He kneeled down and then greeted him.

"Your majesty, you could do me no greater honor than to allow me to make a royal robe for you!"

Seyon had never heard him speak like this. "Get up, and don't talk to me like that! I haven't changed! Anyway, you are more than welcome to make me a robe! Just please, don't go crazy on it!"

"Thank you so much, sire!"

"Ahhh! Don't call me sire! I am still Seyon, and I prefer to addressed as Seyon." Blaze darted out of the room, obviously overjoyed with his permission. Scarlet was quite confused.

"So, why did he call you 'sire'?"

"Well, I'm actually the king of Edinburrough Castle, which is in Scotland."

"Dude, that sucks! The last thing I want to be involved in is politics!" she declared.

"Same here! I wasn't even a king until this morning!" He then explained the events that occurred at Edinburrough just a few days earlier, and she was awestruck.

"Say, the League wouldn't have room for one more member, would it?"

"You want to join? Of course you can join! You'll have to wait until Flicker and Flame show up. They need to approve your membership. Flicker should be back at any moment, and Flame might be with him. What to do until then… I know! I'll show you my turntable!"

"What's a turntable? Oh wait, I'll find out when you show it to me."

Seyon went to the closet, and he stopped when he opened the door. "Oh my god! There is a ton of glass on the floor in here! You know what? I'm just going to pretend that it doesn't even exist…" He pulled a record off one of the shelves. "Bugle Call Rag. That's always a good one…" He walked across the room.

"Now to fire up the phonograph!" He went over the amplifier sitting up against the wall and turned it on. He turned on another device below it. He walked over to the turntable, put the record on the platter, and pushed a button that said "play." Scarlet had absolutely no idea about what he was doing. As the tone arm proceeded to the first groove of the record, Seyon sat back down next to Scarlet. Suddenly, a bunch of pops and crackles played over the speakers. Then a bugle sounded loud and clear, and the song went into a melody with a fast rhythm; the sound of a big band. Scarlet was simply amazed. She then asked something which caught Seyon completely by surprise.

"Would you like to dance?"

"Whoa! I was just going to ask _you _that! That's like, totally freaked up! Anyway, I'm hosting a ball slash dance contest here, and I was wondering if you would be my partner. I've already sent out tons of invitations, so the competition might be fierce." 

"I would love to be your dance partner!" She was extremely excited.

"Excellent! Let me restart the song." The two got up, and Seyon pushed another button on the turntable, and the song started over. Soon they were swinging to the fast music. At that time, Flicker and Flame had arrived, and they were standing in the doorway watching them. It was obvious that Seyon and Scarlet have had much experience dancing, and they were perfect together. Finally the song ended, and the two sat down.

"That was great Scarlet! You really had me going!" Seyon commented.

"You were great yourself! I don't think I've ever danced with anyone that was better than you!"

Flicker and Flame entered the room.

"So, how did you like our radically awesome dancing?" Scarlet asked.

"Seyon, you were great! Oh, and, uh, Scarlet, you were very good, too." Flicker said.

Scarlet whispered to Seyon, "I would just kiss him right on the lip if Flame wasn't here…"

"Why were you dancing, anyway?" Flame inquired.

"Remember back in Edinburrough when I said that I would throw a party? Well, I've got it all figured out. Everyone in Camelhot and Edinburrough will be invited. It will also feature a bodacious duet and solo dance contest. Scarlet and I were practicing."

"Oh, I see. May we borrow your turntable? Flicker and I want to practice for our duet." Flame declared.

"Wait… What!?" Flicker exclaimed.

"Sure! But first, Scarlet wants to join the League, and naturally, I need to you two to vote." Seyon replied. 

"First, Scarlet and I need to have a woman to woman talk. Flicker told me about her, but I haven't even seen her until now!"

Seyon turned to Flicker. "That means that they're going to talk about boring stuff."

"Tell me about it!" Scarlet added. Flicker and Seyon left the room, while Scarlet and Flame sat down on Flicker's bed and started to chat.

"So, tell me about yourself." Flame's question was so broad that Scarlet found a perfect opportunity to deliberately misinterpret it.

"Well, I'm five feet and eleven inches tall, I'm twenty years old, I weigh about…." 

"Hold on! I want to know about your personality and your background! Not your _physical_ characteristics."

Scarlet covered her eyes. "My background… It's pink with purple curtains, the beds are also pink…"

"No! I want to know where you came from and how you grew up!"

"I know, Flin, er, Flare… What's your name?"

"Flame."

"Right, right. I know exactly what you are asking! I just felt like messing around with you. I really don't want to tell you about my background."

"Seyon is the same way. He hasn't mentioned a thing about his past. It's as if his life started when he moved here!" Flame was beginning to notice a strong similarity between Seyon and Scarlet.

"I will tell you about my personality. I am by no means ambitious, I have very few opinions about _anything,_ I would despise having any sort of political power, and, of course, I'm crazy! Seriously, if I wasn't crazy, then I'd go crazy!" She started slowly moved closer and closer to Flame, just as she did with Seyon earlier. Flame was extremely disturbed, and then Scarlet whispered in her ear.

"And I _love _to flirt… Am I making you feel uncomfortable?" Flame nodded, with her eyes wide open. Scarlet change her voice completely when she spoke again.

"Ha ha! I _love _to do that also! You should have seen what happened when I did that to Flicker! Ooooh… I wasn't supposed to say that…" Flame was somewhat angered by that statement, but she chose not to act.

Flame quickly came to a conclusion. "I think I've learned more than enough about you!" She then went to the door to let Flicker and Seyon back in. Seyon entered, but she stopped Flicker.

"Flicker!" Flame whispered. "I swear, Scarlet is _exactly _what Seyon would be like if he was a dragon and a woman! The last thing we need is _two _Seyons! One is enough!" Flicker laughed quietly.

"I kind of like her, but I think she and Seyon certainly make an excellent pair! I mean, just look at them…" Flicker added.

The two walked in, and Seyon and Scarlet were having a pointless argument over something that was probably so stupid that neither Flicker nor Flame could understand it.

"Scarlet, I'm telling you! I was _wrong!_" Seyon shouted, pounding his fist on the table.

"Ha! Not a chance! You were right! I'm the one who was wrong!" Scarlet snapped back, also pounding her fist on the table.

"Listen, I don't want to argue about it! You were right, and that's that!"

Just then, Seyon noticed Flicker and Flame watching them.

"Hey you two! Are you ready to vote on whether Scarlet gets to be a member or not?"

They were stunned. Scarlet and Seyon had ended their argument just like that. It was several moments before either Flicker and Flame could answer. In the mean time, Seyon spoke quietly to Scarlet.

"They're not sure if they're ready yet. Sometimes this can take quite a bit of thinking!"

"Oh! Of course!"

Flicker finally spoke. "Yes. Were ready. You two leave the room." Scarlet was confused.

"Isn't Seyon the leader of the League? Why does he have to leave with me?"

"Scarlet, my friend, the League makes no sense. I am not supposed to vote on membership."

"Oh, okay." They walked out the door. However, neither Flame nor Flicker was sure that they wanted her in the League. They discussed this topic for several minutes, and then Flame called for Seyon and Scarlet to enter, and they rushed in, eager to hear the results.

Flame gave the verdict. "I'm sorry, but the vote was one out of two." Scarlet, however, was not the least bit hurt.

"So, which one of you voted against her?" Seyon inquired, looking at Flame in particular.

"Well, I don't know her well enough to give her my vote. She'll have to prove herself first." Flame felt no shame in admitting this.

Scarlet jumped up and gave Flicker a hug. "Thanks for voting for me, Flicker! You're _awesome!_" Seyon closed his eyes tightly, as he had warned her not to do that in front of Flame. She gave Scarlet a dirty look, and Scarlet suddenly realized what she was doing, so she backed off.

"Seyon, come with me." Flame took Seyon by the hand and the two went out the door, where she could share her thoughts in secret.

"I must say, I'm not particularly fond of Scarlet…" Flame declared.

"Don't worry. I warned her against those acts. Believe me, I saw a certain look in your eye towards Flicker the day I met you! I'll tell you, Scarlet is _not _trying to take him from you. When she hugged him, well, she would have done that to anyone. That's just her personality. I even told Flicker that she was not the one for him, which I believe to be completely true."

"So, you figured out my feelings toward Flicker?"

"Yes. Believe me, I _will not _let her take him from you!" This helped put Flame's mind at ease.

"That aside, there's something unsettling about her…"

"Well, if you think she needs to prove herself first, then that's your opinion. I have no right to interfere with it. Do you feel better now?" He put his hand on her shoulder.

She sighed, and then said, "I think so."

"Just think. The day after tomorrow, there will be that nice dance, and you and Flicker can dance the night away! Wait, won't that make Griddle madder than… some really _really_ mad guy?"

"Not if _King _Seyon sponsors us!"

"Hold on. So you want me, who is going into the dance competition with Scarlet, to sponsor you and Flicker, who will compete against us?"

"Pretty much."

"I'm sorry but that's just not like me! Oh wait… That's _exactly _like me. You've got it!" She giggled, and the two walked back into the room. Seyon didn't hesitate to come up with a plan.

"Well, Scarlet, I'm sorry that you didn't get accepted. However, we do have an opening for you. You see, we need a maid; someone to cook, clean, and do other maid stuff. Say, can you cook?"

"To an extent…"

"Good enough! You're hired! You'll get room and board, and… I don't know… four shillings a day?"

"_Four _shillings!? You've got it!"

"Excellent!" Seyon then remembered something. "Speaking of money, I forgot to give this to you, Flame." He tossed a bag of coins to her. "I think there's about two pounds in there. In case you didn't know, you get paid for your service in the League!"

"I can't accept this!" She exclaimed.

"What!? Oh no! You are _going _to accept it, and you are _going _to like it! Otherwise, be prepared to face minor consequences! You dig?"

"Yes… I dig." She thought it best to just give up.

Seyon suddenly jumped onto the table and shouted, "Now I say that we should load up the Beast and make our way to Edinburrough!"

"I'm sorry, Seyon, but I don't want to be anywhere _near_ a beast!" Scarlet declared.

"Don't worry. That's just the nickname of the League's personal carriage!" With that said, it was only a manner of minutes before the four where in the Beast and were just about ready to go when Scarlet made her confusion known.

"So, where are the horses? Or the peasants? Cows? Pigs? Something has to pull this thing along!"

"Ha!" Seyon replied. "We don't need any of those things!" He opened the throttle, and the Beast jerked forward, just as it usually did. Seyon loosely explained how the carriage worked, and she chose not to question his knowledge. The trip was entirely uneventful, so it took them only two hours to arrive at Edinburrough. The castle's serene beauty amazed Scarlet. They steamed across the drawbridge and into the courtyard where they parked the carriage. Seyon led them through the main corridor and they were soon in the magnificent throne room where Macalister was waiting.

"Your majesty!" He kneeled. "I thank you for coming. We have some important business to attend to."

"Get up! Please, just call me Seyon! None of this 'Your majesty,' 'My lord,' or 'Sire' stuff! I don't like it at all!" Seyon replied. Macalister immediately got back on his feet.

"Very well. Shall we get to business?"

"Sure. Flame, I want you to stay with me since you have some experience in this most unhip world of politics. Flicker, Scarlet, here's some money. You two go to town and have some fun, unless both of you want to be bored out of your minds. We'll find you two when were finished." Scarlet happily accepted the money. She grabbed Flicker's hand and nearly dragged him out of the room. Flame, however, was not at all happy about the idea.

"You know, if something happens between those two, then I don't think I can ever forgive you for it." Her tone shocked Seyon. He had never heard her speak like that.

"They'll be fine; I know it! Otherwise I don't think I could ever forgive myself either. Well, let's get to politicking." He sighed. The two went with Macalister to what was now Seyon's royal quarters.

Meanwhile, Flicker and Scarlet were making their way to town, and Flicker once again continued his "vow of silence."

"You don't speak much, do you? Or do you still get nervous around me?"

"It's a little of both." he timidly replied. She laughed quietly.

It was several minutes before Flicker built up enough courage to speak to her. "Honestly, you're one of the most beautiful women that I have ever met!"

Scarlet was so stunned that she stopped. "Why, thank you Flicker! You know, nobody has ever told me that before…"

"Would you… like to go out to dinner with me?" His voice was very shaky.

"That's a lovely thought, but we can only go as friends. You see, I already have a boyfriend!" Flicker finally looked her in the eyes, but she just smiled before continuing. "Besides, I am _not_ the one for you!" She paused, and she could tell that Flicker was deeply upset.

"I probably shouldn't say this, but Flame really feels something for you."

"Really?!" He was obviously startled.

"Of course! But don't just suddenly shower her with love. Go about it slowly. Ask to go for a walk in the woods. A picnic would be nice. Then maybe a nice dinner or two, a bottle of fancy champagne, and that should be enough to kindle the fire."

"I never knew… I have always had feelings for her, but I thought she viewed me only as a friend! You don't mind if I call off the dinner?" She smiled and then nodded.

"Oh wait… There's that dance coming up pretty soon. Maybe that would be a good place to start!" Flicker nearly shouted.

"There you go! Just don't tell her your feelings at least for a while. Let them show through when you dance with her. Do you even know how to dance?" 

"Not really. You wouldn't be willing to teach me, would you?"

"Ha! I was just about to suggest that! Let's find a dance place, or something."

They walked around for a little while before finding just such a place. It was a clean looking building with a sign that said "Ye Olde Dance Hall." They entered and were greeted by a lively melody.

"Wait here." Scarlet went to a nearby counter and paid a fee. When she came back, she was holding a bottle of scotch.

"Do you want some?" 

"No. I don't drink."

"Alright! More for me!" 

She took a sip from the bottle and then set it on a nearby table. The two then stepped onto the dance floor where Scarlet quickly began the lessons.

"One, two, three, one, two three, there you go!" They continued this routine for nearly two hours, and Scarlet would take a sip of scotch every few minutes. Soon, the bottle was nearly empty, and she could barely stand up. Suddenly, the distinct whistle of the Beast blew loud and clear, and Flicker knew that he could not be discovered at the dance hall with Scarlet.

"Scarlet, Come with me!" She was very slow to respond. Flicker took her by the hand and he almost had to drag her out the back door. He quickly realized that he had no choice but to take her to Seyon and Flame. However, he had to come up with a good explanation. The sky was black by this time, and out of the darkness, he saw two bright lights approach him.

"Light! Let's ride the chariot of light…" Scarlet mumbled as Flicker held her up.

"Yes, yes, the chariot is good." he responded without really thinking. It grew closer and closer, and then the Beast pulled up next to him.

"I guess she had a good night!" Seyon commented without the slightest hint of surprise.

Now Flicker had to come up with an excuse. "Well, we split up. She went to a dance hall, while I went to a nearby shop to see about having a dent taken out of my armor. We had set up a time to meet, but she did not arrive. I finally had to track her down, and you two showed up right when I found her."

"I see." He then made a comment to Flame. "I'm sorry Flame, but I think she's got you beat on craziness." 

"Oh, that's too bad." she said sarcastically.

Flicker and Scarlet helped Scarlet into the vehicle, and then they were off. It took another two uneventful hours for them to arrive home. When they got there, Scarlet had long since fallen asleep.

"Flame, thanks for all the help. I am certainly a wet match in a dark cave when it comes to political issues. I say that you should get some sleep." Seyon stated.

Before Flame left, Flicker said something that quite surprised her.

"Flame, we need to pick out a record tomorrow so we can practice our dance routine!" She agreed and proceeded to her room. Meanwhile, Seyon, who was carrying Scarlet, and Flicker headed to their room. Seyon set her on one side of his bed and climbed in onto the other side. Flicker crawled into his bed. After Seyon turned off the light, they were out cold.

Seyon awoke at around nine o'clock in the morning, and Flicker was still asleep. Scarlet, however, was missing. On her side of the bed was a note. He picked it up the hastily scribbled note and read it without hesitation.

Dear Seyon, Flame, and Flicker,

I want to take the little time I have to tell you something dreadful. I am a traitor. I have secretly been working for Count Geoffrey as a spy. However, I quickly realized that Camelhot was far, far different from what I have heard, so I chose to "quietly" quit working for him. However, he has sent Evil Knight Number 3 to kidnap me and to take me back to Castle Threadbare. No matter what Geoffrey does to me, I will tell him nothing! I ask you three to come and rescue me. If you choose not to, deciding that this is a suitable fate for a traitor, then I understand. I assure that I have seen and corrected the error in my ways. I cannot convince Evil Knight Number 3 to allow me to write any longer, so off I go.

Hugs and kisses,

Scarlet

"My God!" Seyon shouted, which woke Flicker up.

"What is it?" He sleepily replied. Seyon rushed the note over to him.

"Read this!" Flicker slowly read the note. "My God indeed!"

"I'm going to show it to Flame!" Seyon snatched the letter from him and disappeared from the room. He was back in a short time with Flame following him.

"All right. Shall we figure out a plan to rescue her?" Seyon inquired.

"Well, I don't know if we should rescue her. I mean, she _was_ a spy. Not only was she a threat to Camelhot, but she was also a threat to Edinburrough! Besides, this could be part of an elaborate and devious plot." Flame remarked.

"I doubt it, but you could be right. If you are, than that would be _most_ uncool. Flicker, what do you think?"

"Well, I think that we _should _save her, but we will need to keep an eye on her, just to make sure that she was being honest in her note."

"Hey, that's now _exactly _what I think! Sorry Flame, but you've been outvoted." Flame was quite displeased by the idea, but she realized that she had no choice but to cooperate.

"Now for a plan… Flicker, Flame, help me here!" Seyon exclaimed. Flame decided to leave it up to them.

"I think that we should sneak in, pick the lock, and simply sneak back out with her." Flicker's idea was far better than any of Seyon's insane ideas.

"That's probably the best way to do it. Seriously, my idea of filling the castle with pudding? _Not _a good idea. I don't even think that it would help the situation at all! At least it would make the place taste better…" Seyon, however, continued to think. Flicker started gathering their weapons and armor, which had finally been stripped of Blaze's paint.

"Ah ha!" Seyon unexpectedly hollered. He took something out of one of the drawers of his nightstand and then dashed out through the door. He returned within ten minutes with a cake.

"This will do just nicely!" he stated. "Now we are going to go to Threadbare and give this to Scarlet. I'm sure that she'll love it! By the way, we are going on a mission of peace. We will bring no weapons or armor."

"What?! Caste Threadbare is dangerous! We need protection!" Flicker exclaimed. 

"Nah, we'll be _fine!_" Seyon commented. "Shall we head on over there?"

Flicker and Flame decided not to question his thoughts, so they, along with Seyon who was holding the cake, walked to Threadbare. When they arrived, they found that the drawbridge had already been lowered so they entered the castle without a single problem. They walked a short distance before coming across a small room which had four halls intersection it.

"All right. Now if I was Geoffrey, I'd have thrown her in the dungeon. To the dungeon!" Seyon nearly yelled. He turned and proceeded to walk down one of the halls before Flame stopped him.

"It's down _this _hall!"

"Ah, yes. To the dungeon!"

It was not long before they saw Evil Knight Number 3 standing guard in front of a dungeon cell. 

"Hello, fine sir!" Seyon greeted in a very gentleman-like tone.

"Duh, who goes there?"

"What, you don't recognize us?" 

"Duh, of course I do. Geoffrey just told me to say that to anyone."

"We just want to give this cake to Scarlet. May we do so?"

"Uh, okay."

Seyon and his companions walked up to the gate, where Scarlet was playing a game with two other prisoners. She swiftly got up and walked to the gate.

"Seyon! Are you here to rescue me?" 

"Not just yet. Here, I have this cake for you. Now just how can I get this through the bars?"

Evil Knight Number 3 unlocked the gate and opened it. "Why thank you!" Seyon gratefully said. He gave the cake to Scarlet who gratefully accepted it, and then the "evil" knight closed the gate and locked it.

"Man, Seyon, check out that tubular prize!" She pointed to an average-looking brick that was sitting on a table. "I must have it! If I lose it, then I don't think I can live with myself!"

"Whoa! I wish I had that brick… So what game are you playing?"

"We are racing rats. My obviously superior rat, Ratatar, will be victorious!"

"Right on! Good luck winning that race! I'll see you later." He then turned to Flicker and Flame. "Let's get out of here. Back to Camelhot!" The three knights walked down the corridor.

"I thought that we were going to rescue her!" Flicker wanted her release perhaps more than Seyon did.

"No. I figured that she had that coming. If she can get out of there herself, then I will make sure that she will be welcome in Camelhot."

"Then I'll save her myself!" Flicker almost hollered. Before he could leave, Seyon caught him by the arm.

"No. You will _not!"_ Seyon said in a very serious tone. This sudden change of personality convinced Flicker to obey him. However, Flame was quite happy with Seyon's decision, as that was what she secretly wanted. They hastily returned to Seyon and Flicker's room.

"So, you two want a record to dance to?" Seyon started off. "Let me dig around in ye olde closet." He opened the door to the closet, only to discover that the glass on the floor had not moved. Once again, he chose to ignore it. He dug around for several minutes, and then he pulled out a box with six 50's and 60's rock records in it and another large black box.

"Here you go! I'm sure that you can find a good song in here." Seyon handed the two items to Flicker. "By the way, I would like to have these things back in one piece.

"What's this thing?" He was curious about the large box, which was quite heavy. 

"That is a portable turntable. You know that huge box that I have to plug everything into?"

"You mean the generator?"

"Yes. Well _this _rad turntable, though not as rad as the one over there, is battery powered so you don't need to plug it in!"

"Awesome!"

"Whoa! You're finally pickin' up my language. Sweet!" As soon as Seyon finished, there was a knock at the door, and he answered it.

"Ah, Scarlet. Thanks for joining us!" She walked in.

"Scarlet!? But how did you escape?" Flame inquired. Seyon answered her question.

"Yeh, I put a key in the cake."

"I thought you said that you weren't going to rescue her?"

"He didn't. He just gave me the tools which helped me escape by myself." Scarlet explained.

"So, just why were you working for Geoffrey?" Flame asked in a stern tone.

Scarlet sighed. "You see, I had been told that Camelhot was evil, and I'm sure that the one who told me had been forced by Geoffrey to do so. He also said that there was an opening for anyone who wanted to take part in an effort to stop Camelhot. A very good salary was offered. I was nearly broke, so I thought that it was a good opportunity to help out England, and to make some money. When I accepted the task through Geoffrey, I came straight here. I quickly realized that Camelhot was not at all evil. Geoffrey was the evil one! So, I decided to just stop reporting anything to him. That's why he had me kidnapped."

"I see. So you thought that you were doing a good thing by being a spy?"

"Exactly. By the way, check this out!" She held up a brick for Flame to see, though she was obviously was not nearly as enthusiastic as Scarlet was about it.

"Whoa! That is one _bodacious _brick!" Seyon exclaimed. Scarlet just shook her head.

"No. It's tubular, not bodacious!"

"Over my dead body! A brick _cannot_ be tubular. It's not even close to being tube-shaped. Therefore, it is bodacious!"

"Oh. Okay. You're right. I was wrong."

"No freaking way. I was wrong! _You _were right!"

"What? Clearly I was wrong. You cannot deny that!"

"Oh, but I _can, _so I _do!_"

"Um… we're going to go to Flame's room." Flicker threw in.

"Okay. There's no meeting today, and I'll give you the rest of the day off." Seyon said.

Before they left, Scarlet gave Flicker a wink, and he nodded back. After they had left, Scarlet gave Seyon an alluring look.

"You know, now that we're alone, we can do _anything!_" She drew closer and closer to him.

"I know! We could… watch paint dry! How exciting is that?"

"That certainly _is _exciting… But I was thinking about doing something else…" She leaped at Seyon and the two fell onto his bed. He was now lying on his back on the bed, and she was on top of him.

"Um… Scarlet… This isn't right!"

"I know!" She kissed him.

"Ah! This is _definitely _not right!"

"Right you are!" She kissed him again.

"Fool! Cease your desisting!"

"Okay!" She kissed him a third time.

"This is madness! MADNESS!" Seyon threw her aside and shot out through the door. She had expected him to do just that, so she ran after him.

Seyon had been traveling throughout the castle for a little while before he came across Sir Hotbreath.

"Ah, Sir Hotbreath, I presume?"

"Yes, that is I, sire. I must say that I've hardly ever seen you!"

"Fool! Stop calling me sire! I'm reasonably sure that my name is Seyon, not sire!" Hotbreath was almost frightened by Seyon's tone, that is, until he changed topics.

"Say, have you seen Scarlet? I'm trying to avoid her."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know her."

"Well, she's about my height, has blue eyes, scarlet hair…"

"Of course! She came by recently and she asked me if I knew where you where, but I couldn't help her."

"Yes, yes. Well, I must get going. Just remember the dance slash party tomorrow. Be there, or be square!" He held up both index fingers and thumbs and arranged them in the shape of a triangle, and then he disappeared.

He continued down the hall until he bumped into Loungealot, who was still by no means fond of Seyon.

"Watch where you're going!" he snapped.

"I'm terrible sorry sir, but I must know, have you seen Scarlet?"

"Scarlet… Oh yes. She wanted to know where she could find you. Personally, I believe that she's in love with me. I think that I'll ask her to dance with me tomorrow." Seyon heard a response from behind him.

"Ha! It's too bad that you're wrong, Loungealot! I already _have _a boyfriend!" Scarlet approached Seyon from behind.

"What?! Who is he? I'll teach him a thing or two!" Loungealot snarled. She put her arm around Seyon and kissed him on the cheek.

"_Seyon's _your boyfriend?" 

"Well, duh! Isn't he just… _far out_? You just… aren't" At this statement, Loungealot gave Seyon a fierce look, and then he walked away without saying anything else.

"When you said that I was you're boyfriend, were you just making that up?"

"Of course not! Why would I make something like that up?"

"Tell you what. How about you and I take a nice, slow ride in the Beast? We can have a pleasant picnic while we watch the sun go down."

"I would love to!" They went back to their room, picked up several items, including food and the barbeque, and loaded up the carriage. They were soon steaming through the forest and were looking for a nice spot to stop.

At about the same time, Flicker and Flame were searching for a good song to dance to. Flicker had just figured out how to use the strange turntable that Seyon had let him borrow, and Flame had been looking through the list of songs on the back of the box, hoping that just a name would catch her eye. However, she could not find anything, so she decided that they would sample all of the songs. After going through several of them, they came across a song called "Sheila." Flame had figured that they need a song with a very good rhythm in order to compete with Seyon and Scarlet's "Bugle Call Rag." They started dancing to it. Flame was having some trouble, as she had only a little experience. Griddle was never fond of seeing her dance with anyone. On the other hand, Flicker seemed quite nimble, almost as if he had practiced before. In addition, he appeared to have a subtle passion, almost as if he wanted to dance with her. After two short minutes, the song ended

"Flicker, where did you learn to dance?" She was extremely surprised. He did not want to lie to her, but at the same time he didn't want to tell her the truth. He had to come up with something. He quickly realized a foolproof answer. He had to imitate Seyon.

"I learned by doing… stuff…"

"Oh? And what kind of stuff?"

"You know, stuff, things, bits and pieces, that kind of stuff."

"…I think that you've been hanging around Seyon too long. His insanity is draining your sanity!"

"Should we try another song?"

"All right. There must be another good song like that one." They continued their search for a song that could help them at least match Seyon and Scarlet.

Meanwhile, Seyon and Scarlet had found a nice spot to watch the sunset. Seyon was setting up the barbeque while Scarlet was setting up the rest of the meal. He put a bunch of charcoal briquettes in the barbeque, and then realized that he forgot a lighter. He had every intention of taking advantage of the fact that Scarlet was a dragon.

"Scarlet, I need you to light the grill!"

"Okay!" She walked over to inspect the plight. "Where's the lighter?"

"Oh that.. Yeh… I'm pretty sure that it's sitting on my nightstand back at the castle."

"That's not good! I'm sorry, but I can't light it."

"Wait, what!? You're a dragon, so you can light it with your breath!"

"I guess I never told you… I… can't breath fire. I hope you won't think of me any differently…"

"Don't worry, I can't breath fire either."

"Of course, you're a _human!_"

"No way! Nah, I know that. Anyway, is your inability physical, or is it merely an instinct that you haven't learned?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe I'll have Flame work with you."

"She… doesn't like me, does she?"

"No, but I figure that if you two spend some time together, maybe that will change. Since we don't have the ability to cook any food now, what do you say we go back to the castle to practice our dancing?"

"Why don't you cook in the Beast's fire box?"

"That's a good idea, but it burns a type of fuel called diesel. If we did cook our food over that, it would probably have the distinct taste of car exhaust. That would suck!"

"Okay. Then I guess we'll go back." They quickly put everything away that they had just set up and headed home.

A while later, Flicker and Flame found a song called "Sugar Shack" and started dancing to it. Flame found it much easier to keep up with her partner the second time around. Just then, Griddle burst through the door, and the sight infuriated her.

"What are you two doing? I can't believe that both of you were… _dancing!_"

"You don't understand, King Seyon is sponsoring us!"

"You don't think that I will actually believe that, do you? He's not dumb enough to sponsor his own competitors!" Just then, Scarlet walked into the room to investigate the shouting, and she quickly figured out exactly what was happening. Despite her instincts telling her otherwise, she decided to get involved.

"What do you have against these two dancing?" She asked politely. Griddle was in no mood to deal with her, so she picked Scarlet up by her dress and spoke fiercely to her.

"I will not allow _Princess _Flame to dance with some peasant!"

"Flicker is _not _a peasant!" Scarlet snapped back. "And Flame has every right to dance with whomever she wishes."

Griddle dropped her on the ground in response, and Scarlet did not dare say anything else. At that time, Seyon quietly entered, and he was careful to stay out of sight of Griddle. Flame noticed him, and she decided to take full advantage of his presence.

"Stepmother, you should be careful. You have just offended the kingdom of Edinburrough, as well as King Seyon."

"Ha! Edinburrough is a joke, and Seyon is a lousy, good-for-nothing…"

"A lousy, good-for-nothing… what?" Seyon interrupted. "Come on! I want to hear the rest of it!" Griddle fell silent.

"Seyon, explain to her that you are _indeed _sponsoring us!" Flame pleaded.

"'Tis true, Queen Griddle. I_ am_ sponsoring them, and if they win, Camelhot shall receive a lovely prize, courtesy of the kingdom of…" He quickly turned to Flame and whispered, "Help me! What is the name of my kingdom?"

"It's Edinburrough!"

"Oh. Duh!"

"Yes, Queen Griddle, a prize courtesy of the kingdom of Edinburrough!" Seyon finished. Queen Griddle had changed her mood completely.

"I'm sorry. You two can dance as much as you want to." Then she turned to Scarlet.

"I'm sorry that I treated so harshly." She walked out the door, obviously still nervous about the potential danger to Camelhot that she had just caused. Flame then walked up to Scarlet.

"Scarlet, thanks for standing up for us."

"It was nothing."

"And thank you, Seyon! You showed up at just the right time."

"Yeh… I'm just plain great like that… You two can keep on practicing your dancing. I'm sick and tired of not sleeping, so I'm going to bed. You know, so I can sleep. Are you coming with me, Scarlet?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Flicker, if we're asleep by the time you get back, just don't wake us up." Seyon and Scarlet went to their room to catch up on some sleeping, while Flicker and Flame continued to practice for another hour, before Flicker finally went to bed himself.

They all awoke when Seyon's alarm clock went off at eight o'clock.

"All right. Here's the plan for today. Flicker, you are going to help me get stuff set up for the dance tonight. Scarlet, I want you and Flame… to do … something. I don't care what, just anything! I need your relations with her to improve if you're going to be in the League." Seyon speech was somewhat hard to understand since he was still half-asleep.

The three got up and began their tasks. Seyon and Flicker were dismantling Seyon's fancy stereo system when Scarlet came back with Flame.

"Seyon, may we borrow the Beast? We want to go to a nearby village…" Scarlet asked sweetly, again almost flirting with him.

"It's called Weston-super-Mare." Flame added.

"Well, Scarlet, do you even know how to drive the Beast?"

"I've watched you do it. It can't be that hard."

"Tell you what. I'll let you borrow it. However, don't drive like a maniacal maniac. Also, there is a manual in that box that I keep my tools in. Refer to that in the event that you have no idea what you are doing. I want you two back by… two o'clock."

"Thank you so much!" Scarlet was obviously surprised at the fact that Seyon granted her permission, and she, along with Flame, hurried out the door.

"Seyon, I think that you just made a _huge _mistake! They are quite clueless about that carriage." Flicker stated.

"Don't you worry. They'll be fine. It's the Beast that I'm worried about!" They continued for a little while, and then Seyon heard that distinct steam whistle. He looked out the window, and he could see them steaming off into the forest.

"Well, so far so good!" He removed the turntable from its stand and handed it to Flicker.

"Now take this to the ballroom, and please be careful with it! It cost me about three thousand dollars, or about fifteen hundred pounds. I'll tell you though, Thorens makes a killer turntable!" Flicker's eyes opened wide at that statement, so he continued very cautiously to the ballroom. Seyon remained in the room, still disassembling the ball of wires that connected the rest of his stereo together. Finally, he was able to remove the tube amplifier that he had so delicately hooked up, and he took it to the ballroom, where Flicker had just arrived.

"Yes! You didn't destroy it! Good job!" Seyon joked since he saw Flicker setting the record player very carefully on a table. "You see, _this _was even more expensive! It's a tube amplifier, and it totally _rocks!_ Now I want you to get one of those speakers, and I'll get the other."

Within a short time, both speakers had been brought in. Seyon began to wire everything up when he discovered a small problem.

"Flicker! I have no wires! They are all on my bed, and I need you to get them!" While he retrieved the necessary items, Seyon arranged the stereo system into a practical position. By the time Flicker had returned that job had been done. All that was left to do was to wire it all together, which was by no means a difficult job for Seyon. Once he had finished, their first guest had arrived.

"Macalister! I'm glad that you could make it!" Seyon exclaimed.

"It wasn't easy, but I found someone to take my place."

"Excellent!" Suddenly, Flame and Scarlet walked into the ballroom.

"Whoa! You two are back early!"

"Flame and I have settled our differences." Scarlet happily stated. Seyon, however, could tell that they were hiding something.

"That's totally great! Now I have a feeling that that's not the only news you have to offer."

Flame and Scarlet looked at each other, and they had an inaudible conversation. Finally, Scarlet sighed and told the entire story.

"You see, we were going through a nice grassy plain on the Beast, when I noticed that the ground ahead of us seemed to dropped off. I quickly realized that it was a cliff! I put the brakes on as hard as I could, but it just kept skidding. There was no way that we could stop in time, so we jumped, and the Beast continued over the ledge."

"I'm just glad that you two weren't hurt." Seyon showed no concern for the fate of his steam carriage. "Anyway, that thing's pretty tough, so it might have survived mostly in tact. I might be able to jerry-rig it back together."

"I don't think that's possible." Scarlet commented.

"Why not? Me and my insane awesomeness should have no problem fixing it!"

"Well, it kind of… exploded."

"Oh… So it's kind of…toast..."

"It's not toast. Toast comes from bread!"

"Of course! It's all so obvious now! I thought toast was made from rocks! You three wait here, I'll be right back."

He was gone for about twenty minutes. In the meantime, Scarlet, Flicker, and Flame greeted guests as they arrived. When Seyon returned, he had good news.

"I've ordered a new steam carriage. It will be here tomorrow! Isn't that just sweet to the _max?_"

"Totally!" Scarlet responded.

"How do you do all this?" Flicker asked.

"Yes. I want to know as well!" Flame added. Seyon sighed.

"Tell you what. Tomorrow, when we take the new carriage for a test drive, I will tell you everything." The two agreed. Scarlet, however, did not seem to care either way.

Finally, there were enough people to start the party. Seyon went back to the room to retrieve some records. When he returned and played them, rather than dancing, all the guests gathered around that strange device that could play music at will. They soon lost their fascination and the dance returned to normal. More and more people arrived, and finally, Griddle and Allfire showed up, and that was important, as they were the ones who could start the contest portion. Seyon, who was the disk jockey, greatly enjoyed watching everyone have a good time. Macalister, however, seemed rather unhappy. He stood up against a wall, having no one to dance with. Seyon quickly noticed that, so he went over to him.

"If you want to dance with someone, find Scarlet. I'm sure she'll dance with you." Seyon suggested.

"Scarlet? I'm sorry, but I don't know her."

"You've seen her before! She's the radical dragon with blue eyes and scarlet hair!"

"Of course! Well, I think I'll pass... After all, I don't know how to dance."

"Don't worry. She'll be more than happy to teach you." Seyon went back to his post, as the song that he had selected was about to end. When it did, he spoke into a device called a "microphone."

"All right, let's get this party movin' You all look like a bunch of zombies! Here's a song that'll bring life back into ya! Get ready for some Johnny B. Goode!" He tried to imitate Wolfman Jack as he spoke.

He put on a different record, and then the quick rhythm of a rock guitar rang out loud. It definitely got the party moving. Seyon played several more songs before Allfire and Griddle announced the beginning of the contest portion.

Seyon called out the names of the dancers as they went up. The judges were six peasants, each from a different town so as to provide an un-biased review. One by one, the couples went to the center of the room and showed their talent, ten in total. Finally, it was Flame and Flicker's turn. Seyon looked at the list of songs that he had been given, and he played "Sugar Shack," just as they requested. When they started dancing, Seyon was stunned. They danced in perfect harmony. He soon noticed Griddle standing next to him.

"Look at those two! Dancing like _that…_" she stated, almost trying to coerce him into her frame of mind. Seyon detected this instantly.

"I know! They are like two peas in a pod. I swear, they are meant to be together." Griddle was noticeably angered by her failure to change his opinion, so she quickly left.

Soon the song was over, and it was time for the final contestants, Seyon and Scarlet. Scarlet walked onto the dance floor, while Seyon put on "Bulge Call Rag" and pushed the "play" button on the turntable before rushing to her. The song started, and they soon were swinging to the lively melody. Their fluid motion stunned Flame and Flicker.

"Flame, I think we've been beaten…" Flicker stated somewhat apathetically.

"Flicker! Don't say that. We still have a chance!"

Soon, Scarlet and Seyon were finished. Seyon returned to his table, and Scarlet went over to Flicker and Flame to watch the solo dance competition with them. Allfire announced the start of the competition. The first contestant was Sir Blaze, and he did one of his famously notorious interpretive dances while wearing something that remarkably resembled a tutu. It was certainly not a crowd pleaser. After four long and torturous long minutes, he had finished.

Allfire announced the second and, not surprisingly, final contestant. It was none other than Seyon himself. Once again, he put on a different record, pushed the "play" button, and rushed onto the dance floor. All of a sudden, a melody played that was like nothing that the guests had never heard before. It had a very regular and deep bass line, and they could not recognize a single instrument in the song. Seyon started off with some very stiff motions. At once, they would become very smooth, and they would seem to flow right into the next move. Over all, it was quite amazing.

"Scarlet, do you have any idea what he is doing?" Flame inquired. Seyon had told Scarlet a little bit about that strange kind of music and dance.

"All I know is that that type of music is called electronic music, and the dance he is doing is called the Robot. It's pretty groovy, I'd say."

"Is that _all _you know? You know nothing in any other subject?"

"Exactly! I mean, it _is_ true that Earth is a cube!" Flame laughed quietly at Scarlet's crazy idea. By this time, Seyon's impressive dance was over, and it was time for the judges to select the winners.

All the contestants waited nervously as the judges conferred. At last, they handed a piece of paper to Allfire to read out loud.

"I have here the results. I bet you're all so excited! All right. Third place is… Cedric and Sophia! Second place is… Seyon and Scarlet!" He paused before saying the first place winners. "And finally, first place is… Flicker and Flame! Congratulations, you two!" Scarlet and Seyon could tell that they were just plain stunned as they went up to receive their trophy.

Allfire then announced the results of the solo competition. "Second place is… Sir Blaze! And first place is Seyon! Not surprising, since he was the only other competitor." Seyon received a trophy similar to Flame and Flicker's. He then walked over to them.

"Well done! Both of you totally blew us out of the water! Now I'm beat, bushed, and exhausted. I'm going to bed. Scarlet, are you coming with me?"

"I'm right behind you."

The two headed off to their room, still quite surprised by their success.

"Hold on. You're just going to leave your fancy electronic… things there?" Scarlet knew that he greatly treasured them.

"First of all, it's fancy electronic stuff, _not _things! Second of all, I'm just too worn-out. I'll deal with the cleanup in the morning."

"Okay!"

The two entered their room and both climbed into Seyon's bed as usual. He flicked a switch and the brilliant light that had illuminated the room so well disappeared. Before they had fallen asleep, Seyon put his arm around his companion, and she just smiled.

So now there is the possibility of a new member in the League. Most importantly, and perhaps most frighteningly, there is now a new resident of Camelhot who equals Seyon in craziness and lightheartedness, and the two are in love with each other.


	4. Seyon's Plan

Seyon's Plan

It was the middle of the night when Scarlet woke up. Unable to get back to sleep, she tossed and turned. Then, in the dead silence of the night, Seyon whispered to her.

"You can't sleep either? Welcome to the club, a club that totally sucks!"

In the faint glow of the moonlight, she could see him lying on his back; a position he often lied in when he was thinking deeply. That usually resulted in some crazy idea or invention that he would never do anything with.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, you know, stuff, things, sticky objects, erasers, potatoes; the usual."

"Anything… useful this time?"

"Actually, yes. In fact, whatever I'm thinking about is so useful that my head would explode if I were to begin to comprehend what I was thinking about!"

Suddenly, he disappeared from the bed, and she heard him hit the ground. He got back on in one quick motion.

"Scarlet, you should stop hogging the bed! I was lying on the edge while you were comfortably sprawled out. It's my bed, I should be the one all sprawled out!"

"Well, I also have an idea. I'll be right back." She slowly got out of bed, walked over to the closet, and took some items out before leaving the room. She was gone for quite a while. By the time she returned, Seyon was finally asleep, and she realized that that was the perfect opportunity to add another part to her plan, which she quietly executed.

Flicker awoke before Seyon and Scarlet. He went to work organizing what Seyon called his "organized mess," since it took up a good part of the floor. Seyon was the next to wake up. He fell out of bed once again. After he got up, he went over to see exactly what Flicker was doing. As soon as he looked him in the eye, Flicker noticed that he was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

"What is it?" 

"Just… your face!" He burst out laughing. Flicker went into the bathroom to see what all the fuss was about. When he saw himself in the mirror, he was shocked. He was wearing lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara. He rushed out to complain to Seyon.

"Seyon! That wasn't nice at all!"

"Hang on! I didn't do it. Do you think that I have the skill to do something like that? It must have been done by… someone who has had experience with makeup…" He made an obvious glance toward Scarlet, who was still lying asleep in bed.

"You get yourself cleaned. I'll formulate some sort of… revenge…." Flicker went back into the bathroom. Fortunately, he was easily able to change himself back to normal. When he came out, he immediately saw that Scarlet's hair color, which she took much pride in, had changed from that bright shade of red to a solid white.

"It's amazing what one can do with a can of flea spray!" Seyon commented. "Now here's the plan. I've set my alarm to go off in five minutes. I want you to get back into bed and pretend to sleep. I'll do the same. When she wakes up, much to her surprise, you'll be completely normal."

"I think she'll figure it out…"

"Not if she's still half-asleep!" Seyon quickly got back into bed, and Flicker followed his example.

Sure enough, within a couple of minutes, the alarm went off. Scarlet slowly got up, and Seyon and Flicker did their best to act as though they were just getting up themselves. Seyon could tell that Scarlet was quite stunned that her victim looked no different than he usually did.

"Flicker, when did you wash all the makeup off?"

He, however, knew exactly how Seyon wanted him to respond. "Makeup? Are implying that I _wear _makeup? Now what could I have done to make you believe that?"

"But… I… put some all over you last night…" Seyon's "Not if she's still half-asleep" philosophy proved to be correct.

"I think you've gone crazy." At that instant, the door flew open, and Flame walked in, soaking wet.

"Seyon! I'll get you for this!" Her voice rang in an angry tone that was completely unfamiliar to them.

"Scarlet, what _did _you have to do last night?" Seyon asked nicely.

"I didn't do that to her! I simply put a bucket of water over her door. It was _her _fault for opening the door! Had she not done that, then the bucket wouldn't have fallen."

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry that I got mad. It was all my fault." Flame seemed to understand completely.

Seyon knew that she was up to something, so he went behind Scarlet where he would be safe. Flame simply left the room. In an instant, she came rushing back with another bucket filled with water, which she forcefully heaved at Scarlet. However, she ducked, leaving Seyon out in the open. The water completely drenched him.

"I'm so sorry, Seyon. I didn't mean to hit you!" She tried to sound as apologetic as possible.

"Oh! It's _on _now, Flame!" When Seyon spoke like that, it was truly a call to arms.

"Yet I am unscathed." Scarlet proudly stated.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?" Flame said deviously. Scarlet was quite confused by the statement, so she chose to investigate. Upon seeing her reflection, she shrieked.

"My hair! What have you done to my hair?!"

Flicker had been careful not to get involved the entire time. From his point of view, the entire situation was quite humorous.

"And just what are you laughing at?" Seyon snarled with false anger.

"I thought that your fighting was hilarious! I mean, _you _got drenched instead of Scarlet, Scarlet has white hair, and she told Flame that it was _her _fault for having the bucket on her! It just doesn't make sense. That's why it's so funny!" He couldn't stop laughing as he spoke.

Seyon, without saying a thing, walked over to his refrigerator, pulled out a pie, and hurled it at Flicker. It left a streak of Boysenberry as it slide down his face.

"Now _that _is funny!" Seyon chuckled. Flame quickly joined him.

"What are you two laughing at?" Scarlet had finished washing all the white from her hair. She then spotted Flicker, who still had remnants of the pie strewn across his face. She laughed along with Flame and Seyon. 

Seyon then shouted, "Quiet everyone! Nobody may leave the room. NOBODY! The League is now having a meeting for no apparent reason. Scarlet, as a perspective member, you may join us."

"I believe you mean that she's a_ prospective_ member." Flicker corrected.

"Silence! To the meeting table!"

"I'm going to the bathroom to rid myself of this pie." Flicker stated.

"Oh no you won't! Sit down!"

Soon, all four of them had sat down at the League's personal table, though it was of very poor quality, and the leader announced his vision.

"I have a dream. A dream that will change Camelhot for the better. A dream that will take us out of the Dark Age. A dream that will… Oh forget this. Basically, I want to modernize Camelhot. This place is quite outdated."

"This castle is not outdated!" Flame snapped back.

"By my standards, it is! I plan to put electricity throughout the entire castle. In addition, this place will have hot and cold running water, and a full sewer system. No more of these 'gravity toilettes that lead straight to the moat.' That's just not good!"

The three were astounded. The plan that he proposed seemed to be just to unreal and complicated to ever work. Moreover, they didn't even understand most of it.

"Now just how do you plan to do this?" Flicker was perhaps the only one who saw the same light that Seyon saw.

"A large steam engine. We'll use the one that I sent to Edinburrough. It's still sitting in its crate! The hot water will be tapped off the boiler of the thing, where it will circulate through a large hot water tank in Camelhot's tallest tower. A cold-water tank will also be there. Then it's simply a matter of gravity to keep up the water pressure. Electricity will simply run through wires in the walls, were it will go to outlets and or lights. Sewers will be based off the existing drainage system. Do you all dig that… like hounds?"

The dragons felt that Seyon knew what he was talking about, so they would stay out of his way and not question any of his ideas.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to modernize _your _castle?" Flame inquired.

"You see, I'm never there! Besides, I like Camelhot much more. When I'm away from there, I have Macalister take care of business, and he's quite good, so I don't really even need to be there. Anyway, we will now return to our regularly scheduled program. Go on, now. You all are free! Free like little birdies, swimming in the sea…" Seyon's voice faded into a mumble.

"Free like little dolphins, crawling on their knees…" Scarlet reiterated.

"No, not free like that. Flicker, you and I will have some _serious_ designing to do, but not right now. You and Flame can go do whatever it is that you two usually do." Seyon abruptly stated.

Flicker and Flame left the room, while Scarlet and Seyon stayed behind. Their absence made her quite concerned.

"Seyon, I think that they're planning something against me…" she said with a shaky tone.

"Don't worry. We'll plan something against them! But first, I need to make some calls."

"Calls? What do you mean?"

"Ha HA! You'll just have to wait and see."

He went to his nightstand, opened one of the drawers, and took out a device that resembled a brick in both size and shape. He raised a long metal rod out of the top of it, pushed several buttons on the front of it, and then held it up to the side of his head. He waited a few seconds.

"Hello? Bradford?" he nearly shouted into the thing. Scarlet could hear a faint response that came from this "brick."

"Ah! Just the person I wanted to talk to! Oh, I'm doing just fine… Say, how are things going in the company?" Scarlet once again heard a faint voice that seemed to radiate out of that strange device, but she couldn't make out what it was saying.

"Excellent!" Seyon continued. "Now let's get to business. I need some parts. Let's see…" He thumbed through a large book that was sitting on his nightstand. "All right. I need two five-hundred gallon water tanks, about one-thousand feet of one-and-a-half inch copper pipe, pipe soldering equipment, two Model 7 water pumps, a two-inch drive tranny for them, about two-thousand feet of house wiring, forty outlets, forty switches, fifty lamps sockets. And… that should be it for now. Also, send our best twenty construction workers in my SB-4 along with everything that they could need. Oh! And send a bucket of glue."

"May I speak into that?" Scarlet pleaded in a voice so sweet that Seyon could not deny her.

"Hold on, Bradford. My girlfriend's never seen one of these things. Is it all right if she were to speak with you? Great!" He handed the device over to her. When she held it, it became quite obvious that the thing also _weighed _about as much as a brick. She tried to copy exactly how she saw Seyon use it.

"Hello?" She spoke cautiously at first.

"So you're Seyon's girlfriend? That'll be hard to get used to. He's never been a lady's man."

She was utterly bewildered. She was speaking to someone who wasn't even in the same room!

"My name is Scarlet. And who exactly are you?"

"I'm William Bradford. I'm Seyon's chief supervisor here in Braigland."

"Braigland? I've never heard of that place before…"

"Well, it's a fairly new country. I'm sure that ole' Seyon will tell you_ plenty_ about it. Anyway, duty calls. It was nice speaking to you!"

"It was nice speaking to you, too!" There was an audible click over the earpiece.

"Seyon! That was _far out, _both figuratively _and _literally!" She simply couldn't hide her astonishment.

"It's a little behind on technology, but it works just fine. After all, I designed it!"

"Now what exactly _is _this Braigland?"

"That's where I'm from. By the way, the official language there is Braig, but almost nobody knows how to speak it. I'm one of the few who can. Ieckiara, vi? That basically means, 'isn't that awesome?'"

"Totally! So tell me more about Braigland. Ooooh, can I go there some day? I would _love _to see your home country!" She spoke so fast that Seyon could hardly understand her.

"Hang on, there! You're going a mile a minute. I will tell you more about it when Flicker, Flame, you, and I take a ride in the new steam carriage. You'll have to wait until then."

"Okay…"

"Come to think of it, I believe that my electronic stuff is still in the ballroom. I'm going to need your help to move all that stuff."

The two then proceeded to retrieve Seyon's high-end audio equipment. When they arrived, Gallahot, Blaze, Burnevere, and Loungealot were playing what was apparently a game called "How dumb is Count Geoffrey?" Seyon and Scarlet quickly caught on to the idea of the game and joined in.

"Count Geoffrey is so dumb, that he thought that Loch Ness needed a key!" Burnevere laughed.

"Count Geoffrey is so dumb, that if you told him that his refrigerator was running, he would go chasing after it!" Seyon laughed. The others fell silent, and Seyon's laughter faded and was accompanied by a stupid look on his face. He coughed, hoping to lessen his embarrassment.

"I guess I should have used a different one…" He said aloud to himself.

Scarlet saved him with her own joke. "Count Geoffrey is so dumb, that he went walking through the woods trying to find his family tree!" Everyone once again broke into laughter.

"Okay, okay. I've got a good one this time. Count Geoffrey is so dumb, that if you told him that he needed to use pi to calculate the area of a circle, he would say, 'No thanks. I'm full!'" Seyon proudly joked. Again, everyone was silent.

"Count Geoffrey is so dumb, that he tried to dig a tunnel to the moon!" Gallahot chortled. Everyone did the same.

"Hold on. I think I've got it. Count Geoffrey is so dumb, that he would try to take over Camelhot, with a chicken!" Seyon stated.

Suddenly, they heard Geoffrey's distinct voice from behind one of the curtains.

"Curse you, Seyon!" He darted out from behind the curtains while holding a chicken. Everyone just stared silently at him as he made his way to the door. They all looked at each other and then simultaneously burst into laughter.

"Seyon, I don't think _anyone _can beat that!" Scarlet commented, struggling to catch her breath.

"Totally! All right everyone, Scarlet and I need to take that there stereo system back to my pad."

"You're name is Scarlet?" Blaze said with a great sense of surprise. "I sure hope that you didn't get that name from your hair, because it's really more of a crimson shade." She answered with an evil glare. Seyon could hear her growl.

"Calm down. I don't think that's true," he whispered.

They then began to retrieve the equipment. To Seyon's surprise, all the dragons, except Loungealot, helped him. Therefore, he needed to make only one trip to his room. When all of them arrived, Seyon wanted to make Loungealot sorry that he did not help. He quickly came up with the perfect plan.

"Thanks for helping me! Here's a little token of my appreciation. Make _sure _that you rub it in Loungealot's face." He gave each of them, including Scarlet, a single coin worth one pound, overall an impressive sum of money.

"Seyon, are you sure that you want to give us _this_ much money?" Burnevere asked.

"Don't worry. It's just a drop in the bucket for me! Now if you'll excuse me, I must speak with the king. You all can hang out here with Scarlet if you wish." He quickly left the room.

The room was silent for several moments before Scarlet finally said something. "You all should see this thing that Seyon has!" She went over to his nightstand and pulled out his telephone.

"Check this out. It lets you speak to someone who's far, _far _away!"

"How does it work?" Blaze questioned.

"I… don't know. He pushed some of these buttons, and then he spoke into it. Let's see if I can do it." She pressed several of the buttons in a random sequence, but nothing happened. "I think that I'll wait until Seyon returns. I really have no idea how he used this thing."

A few minutes later, Seyon had finished explaining his plan to Allfire.

"You want to do _what _to Camelhot?" he practically yelled.

"I want to modernize it. Trust me, taking a hot shower in the morning is just… _tubularly _radical." 

"I don't know if we can afford it. I'm sure that it's awfully expensive…"

"Ha! Not a chance. I'm paying for it _entirely. _Nothing will come out of your pocket."

"Very will then. If you say that Camelhot will be much better, then that will be… awesome, is it?"

"Totally. Now I'd say that the construction…um… dudes will be here either tonight or tomorrow morning. They're the fastest builders in the west. I'd say that they might be able to finish in two days! Now I must get going. I shutter to think about what Scarlet is doing with the knights." He strolled through the doorway.

As he headed back to his room, he found Flicker and Flame, who were apparently wandering through the halls aimlessly.

"There you two are! Are you coming with me? Scarlet is alone with the knights, and you know that that could mean trouble! Say, what were you guys doing all this time?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Flame snickered.

"Nothing, or… something?"

"Fine. We were planning something against Scarlet."

"That's what I figured. Now just what is it?"

"It's my latest invention!" Flicker proudly stated. He started to explain what it was, but Flame stopped him.

"Righteous! Now let's go!"

The three walked back to the room, and when they entered, they found Scarlet and the knights trying to figure out how to use the telephone. They kept pressing buttons, but it refused to do anything. Seyon stepped in to show them exactly what they were doing wrong. He yanked the phone from Scarlet's hands.

"You have to turn it _on _before you can do anything!" he stated. He flipped a switch on the side, dialed a phone number, and handed it back to her. "Bradford's busy right now. You'll be speaking to his assistant, Thomas."

She listened to the device closely, waiting for a response. Suddenly, a voice answered.

"Hello? How may I help you?"

"Hi. My name is Scarlet. I'm Seyon's girlfriend."

"Whoa! Seyon has a girlfriend? That's weird! So what do you need to talk to me about?" Everyone, including Flame and Flicker, gathered around her as she conversed with the stranger.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to show the knights this thing!"

"The knights? What are you talking about? Oh, wait, I guess I forgot for a moment where Seyon is, or was, actually."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, Seyon…" The phone was snatched from her hands."I'm sorry, but we must get going." Seyon said into it. He turned the device off.

"What was that for?"

"You aren't supposed to hear what he was about to say, that's all."

"Okay."

"Scarlet, I want to tell you something…" Flame stated for no apparent reason. "I want to say that Flicker and I surrender. No more practical jokes." She held out her hand as a sign of honesty.

"I'm glad that you recognized my superiority before it was too late!" Scarlet proceeded to shake Flame's hand. Just then, there was quite an audible "zap!" and she quickly pulled her hand away. Flame raised her hand, revealing a small round device that was strapped to her palm.

"Oh! As if dying my scarlet hair white wasn't enough!" She said in disgust. 

"I'm telling you! It's crimson. Crimson, crimson, crimson!" Blaze hollered as he stamped his feet. Scarlet was infuriated. She walked over to him in attempt to intimidate him, despite the fact that he was much taller than her.

"Blaze, I challenge you to a duel!" There was a collective gasp amongst everyone in the room.

"Humph! Fine. Swords or those pistols that Seyon has?"

"Ha! I'm thinking about… boxing! Yeh, boxing. Tomorrow afternoon. Are you in?"

"I guess…"

"Good! We'll settle this matter once and for all." She walked back over to Seyon, Flicker and Flame, and her mood changed completely.

"What did I come here for? Oh, that's right." Her mood changed completely once again. "Flame, Flicker, you two are going to get it!"

"Um… We need to leave. You know how knight business is, Damsels, to save, peasants to deopress..." Gallahot quickly said. All the knights left the room in a rush.

"All right, you three. I'm going to take a nap. Just don't kill each other while I'm asleep." Seyon declared. The dragons walked out, and Seyon went to bed where he quickly fell asleep.

"You know, I think that we should do something to Seyon. He's always been so neutral…" Scarlet suggested. She looked at Flame. "I think that I know exactly what to do." She explained the plan, and all of them quietly entered the room, and sure enough, their victim was sound asleep.

"Scarlet, I don't feel comfortable doing this…" Flame declared.

"Come on, it will be great!"

"Seriously, I _really _don't feel comfortable…" 

"Hey, I would be more than happy to do it, but it wouldn't work if I did."

"That's true, but why doesn't Flicker have to do anything?"

"Well, if he did it, then that just wouldn't be right at all!"

Scarlet and Flicker left the room, while Flame prepared for her part.

Several minutes later, Seyon woke up. He turned to the side where Scarlet always slept.

"Hello, Scarlet. Wait... Flame!? What are you doing in my bed? Did you set yours on fire? You should have used Flicker's bed."

"What? No! I didn't set my bed on fire! I just wanted to be with you." She wrapped her arms around him.

"Um… you know that Scarlet's my girlfriend, right?"

"I know, but I she's not here right now!" She drew ever closer to him.

"Still, this is wrong, and by that, I mean that this is not right!"

"I know! That's what makes it so great!" She slowly gave him a light kiss. Just then, Scarlet's voice echoed through the room.

"Seyon!" He immediately sat up upon hearing the shout.

"How could you?" She said in a sobbing voice before running away.

"Flame… I don't what's gotten into you, but I'll get you back!"

Seyon flew out of bed, fell on the floor once again, and then took off after Scarlet. He ran only a short distance before finding her in an almost hysterical state.

"Scarlet, I'm sorry. You see, I woke up, and Flame was in my bed, and…"

"I know! I set it up!" Her sobbing instantly stopped. "You should have seen the look on your face! Totally classic!"

"It sure was!" Flame, who had just now arrived, added. 

"You two suck!" Seyon said without the slightest sense of anger. Flicker came a short time later to find out if the plan had worked. Just then, there was a strange fluttering noise coming from outside.

"That was fast! Quick, follow me!" Seyon exclaimed. They hurried out of the castle and into the grassy plain surrounding it. Up in the sky was the most bizarre looking bird that Scarlet, Flicker, and Flame had ever seen. It had no wings at all! Attached to the bottom of this "bird" was a long cable, which was hooked onto a large wooden crate. It came closer and closer to them. Seyon gave a signal, and the thing started to lose altitude. Soon, the crate had been softly set on the ground. He climbed on top of it, loosed several clamps, and jumped off. He through a salute to the flying object, and it flew away with the cable dangling from it.

"What was _that?_" Flicker asked, almost in a state of shock.

"That, my friends, was a helicopter. Seyon built, to be precise. That's why it rocks _out loud!_" He then examined the large crate. After removing four bolts, the back end fell open. He climbed inside, and soon, a carriage that looked exactly like the Beast, though obviously new, rolled out.

"Check it out, it's our new steam carriage! This one's got computer controlled valves, an ultra-flash boiler, four valve chests, steam cutoff that can be either manually or computer controlled, and it runs at twice the pressure. Oh, and it has a three tone whistle and a pushbutton starter." He pushed a button, and the boiler lighted instantly.

"Seyon, I have no clue what you are talking about!" Scarlet declared.

"Same here." Flame added.

"I got some of it, but that's all." Flicker stated.

"Come on everyone. She's ready for her first run!" They all jumped in, and the steamer took off far more smoothly than the Beast ever did. It was also much quieter. It didn't make that "Puff, clackity-clack, Puff, clackity-clack" that the Beast was so well known for.

"So, what about your past? You said that you were going to tell us all about yourself!" Flicker said impatiently. Seyon stopped the carriage.

"All right. I'll tell you. As Scarlet knows, I'm from a country called Braigland. It was only about two years old when I came here. You see, I'm the president of Braigland. I'm also the owner of Seyon Industries, which is where I get all my money from."

"What does Seyon Industries do?" Flame inquired.

"Well, we make almost anything. Anyway, when I founded the country, we were flat broke. I therefore started the company to boost the economy. We didn't make much at first, so I started Seyon Steel. Steel prices had gone through the roof, so we set out to make some cheap, but top-quality steel to help the market, and it did. Our steel was far cheaper, and was better quality. I, as well as Braigland, became filthy rich nearly over night. Right now, we make about sixty percent of the world's steel, and trust me, that's a _huge _amount."

"So where exactly is Braigland?" Flicker asked.

"Well… It's more of a… when than a where… You see, I'm from about eight hundred years in the future. But anyway, basically, it's an island on the other side of the earth." All three of their jaws dropped.

"I came here because I retired. I'm still the president, and I still own the company, but I have far more than I could ever wish for, so I decided to travel time to find a nice place to live."

"But… how… did you come here…?" Flicker could barley speak.

"Something called a time machine. I had the world's brightest minds working on the thing, and they actually built it! It uses something about light bending time, or whatever. They explained it to me, but I couldn't understand it. All I know is that I had to build and entire freaking power plant just to power the thing! See Scarlet, when you were talking to Bradford and Thomas, you were actually talking to them eight-hundred years in the future."

"That… is…._ Wicked!_" She exclaimed.

"Seyon, do you think that we could possibly go to Braigland?" Flame was apparently excited about seeing the future, as well Seyon's home.

"I would _love _to take you all there! In fact, while the workers are working on Camelhot, I plan to take everyone there for a few days. That way, you all won't have to deal with the noise."

"When can we go?"

"I don't know… Tomorrow maybe. That's good because Braigland's Independence Day is the day after tomorrow! Scarlet, you'll love it. You can do almost _anything _you want!"

"Really? I can do almost _anything?_" She smiled.

"Sure. I must warn you getting there requires a long flight in an SB-4!" 

"And what is that?"

"Seyon Bomber number four. It's an airplane, which is kind of like that helicopter in the sense that it flies! Anyway, that's enough about me. Let's go back to Camelhot!" Seyon opened the throttle wide, and the new Beast reared up on it back wheels before barreling down the road. They arrived in Camelhot in no time.

"Ha! I'm a genius. I didn't even get lost!" 

"Seyon, I hate to burst your bubble, but we were only about five-hundred feet from the castle." Flicker pointed out.

"… Quiet, you! Stop trying to steal my glorious glory! Flame, you go tell your father and all the knights about my bodacious plan, and anything about me that they wish to know. Flicker, Scarlet, and I are going to do things and stuff." Flame left, while the rest continued to their room.

"So, what is the future like?" Scarlet asked broadly.

"I don't think that it's that impressive. I mean, Braigland itself is actually a fairly primitive country, except for the time machine." They said nothing else until they arrived at their room. When they opened the door, Blaze was sitting on Seyon's bed.

"Look, I've finished your robe!"

Seyon took it and gave it a thourough inspection. Overall, it was absolutely gorgeous. It wasn't too garish, colorful, or weird in any way. It was mostly red, and there was thick, white, puffy material wherever the fabric ended. It was truly a robe worthy of royalty.

"Blaze, this is awesome! I absolutely love it." He was overjoyed with the king's approval, and he skipped out through the door.

"What a nice lady!" Seyon said aloud.

"Seyon, Blaze is a_ boy!_" Flicker corrected.

"What? Oh, I see how it is, your trying to pull a fast one on me, is it?"

"Seriously, Blaze is, in fact, a boy." Seyon's eyes opened wide in response.

"Oh my God! I'll be honest, his type doesn't creep me out, but the fact that I thought he was a girl all this time _does!_ Ahhh!"

"Seyon, you're not alone. I thought he was a girl too." Scarlet made him feel much better.

"It's still a terrific robe, though…"

A while later, Flame came in.

"I talked to daddy, and he loves the idea of having everyone go to Braigland! However, he wants to know when we are leaving tomorrow." 

"Somewhere around noon. Just remember, it's, like, a fifteen-hour flight. That's a long time to be crammed in an SB-4. We won't get there until it's really late, but oh well." With that said, Flame once again left to tell her father the rest of the plan.

"Scarlet, Flicker, I'm bushed, so I'm going to lie down. Why don't you two practice boxing?"

"I have two pairs of boxing gloves in my old room!" Flicker exclaimed. He rushed out through door and was back in five minutes.

Flicker and Scarlet put them on and started the match. It quickly became apparent that she had never boxed before. Flicker then gave her one good hit in the stomach, which she made no attempt to block, and she immediately fell to the ground.

"OUCH! That hurt…"

"Glass stomach, huh?" Seyon commented, though half-asleep.

"I guess…" She quickly got back up. "Okay, I'm done for the night."

"That's it? Don't you want to practice some more?" Flicker knew that she needed it.

"No, I'm fine. I'm going to bed."

"But it's only seven o'clock."

"Not by my watch!" She looked at her wrist, despite the fact that there was no watch there. She climbed in bed with Seyon and passed out just as he had done a few seconds earlier. Flicker decided to follow their example, so he went to bed himself.

At about six o'clock in the morning, there was a loud pounding on the door. Seyon got up and turned on the light. When he opened the door, there were at least twenty people standing there.

"Seyon! It's good to see you!" One of them said.

"It's good to see you all too! So, are you all ready to get started?"

"Come on, were Braiglanders. Of course we are!"

"Excellent!" At that time, Flicker and Scarlet were just getting up.

"Flicker!" Seyon shouted. "I want you to tell everyone to get his or her things packed. It looks like we'll be leaving early!" Flicker dragged himself out of bed, put on his usual armor, and sauntered through the door and passed all the workers.

"All right boys, show them what Braiglanders can do!" Seyon commanded. They cheered and quickly vanished to retrieve their equipment.

Half an hour later, Flicker returned, having told everyone about the early departure.

"Well, I'd say that we still have about an hour. Say, what about all that designing that we were supposed to do?"

"Yeh, I had them do all that. I didn't want to deal with it. Start packing your things. And you too, Scarlet."

It took them the better part of an hour to get everything in order. They proceeded with their bags to the throne room, where Flicker had set the meeting spot. Several of the knights were all ready there. Blaze had two suitcases full of clothes for any possible occasion. Allfire and Griddle soon arrived as well. Loungealot was the last to arrive, nearly half an hour later. Seyon then stood on a table and spoke.

"Quiet, everyone, quiet! You all know all kinds of stuff about me, and I'm sure that you know at least a little bit about Braigland. The only thing that I'll say, is that it will take us about fifteen hours to get there, but trust me. It's worth it. And with that, were off!" They all left the room and proceeded to Seyon's SB-4, which the workers had used to fly to the castle.


	5. The Trip to Braigland

The Trip to Braigland

Everyone followed Seyon to the lush, grassy area that surrounded the castle. Parked there was a massive shiny machine. It had a huge wing towards the front, and a smaller wing toward the back, with a third wing pointed straight up. This device was Seyon's pride and joy. Rather that having a "private jet," as he called it, like most rich people, he had a four radial engine bomber that had been converted to suit his needs.

"All right, everyone! Hop in!" he commanded. He opened a door on the side of the fuselage, pulled out a flimsy ladder, and climbed inside. Scarlet followed. Before she could enter, however, Seyon stopped her.

"Ahhh. I _love _this smell! It's the scent of oil, grease, metal, and gas. Who couldn't love it?"

"I don't love it." Scarlet declared.

Seyon paused for a moment. "Quiet, you! Now follow me! You're going to be my co-pilot."

"Sweet! What's a co-pilot?"

"Someone who helps the pilot." 

All the others began to board the plane. They went toward the back of plane where there were accommodations for passengers. Seyon, who had yet to actually make it to the cockpit, made sure that everyone was there. Blaze soon entered the plane, and the sight did not impress him.

"Ewww! It's grey, black, and it smells weird in here! It's just so… icky." he stated.

"Dude, this is a war machine, _not _a flying five-star hotel! Well, at least is was _meant _to be a war machine… You'll only have to endure it for… a long time! Ha! Sucks for you! I'm sorry, that wasn't nice of me to say…" Seyon responded. Blaze continued on in disgust.

Soon everyone had been accounted for, except for Cinder and Clinker. He then remembered that Allfire had made them stay behind to guard the castle. However, he wanted to double-check to make sure that nobody was missing.

"All right. Is anybody not here?"

"I'm not here!" Scarlet exclaimed from behind him.

"Oh no! We can't go with out Scarlet! We must find her!"

"She's right behind you." Hotbreath said. Seyon turned around.

"There you are! Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you." He then addressed the crowd. "Okay. I'm going to get us up in the air as soon as possible. Flicker, Flame, one of you can swap with Scarlet if she gets board of being the co-pilot."

He then walked to the cockpit, with his girlfriend walking right behind him. He began to run through the pre-flight checklist.

"Let's get started. Okay, fuel's good, oil's good, batteries are good…" He mumbled aloud to himself as he checked everything.

"We're good to go!" He then pushed a button that said, "Intercom," and he spoke.

"I will now start the engines. Get ready!" He then spoke to the co-pilot. "Under your seat is a box of shotgun shells. I need them."

"But why? We don't have a shotgun in here!" Seyon had already familiarized her with that term. Nevertheless, she pulled out the box and handed it over.

"You see, this is how I start the engines." Seyon pulled out one of the shells, put it in a tube that was bolted next to his seat, and then closed a cover over it.

"Okay, here we go!" He pulled a lever, and everyone was startled by a loud BANG! One of the engines began to growl as it fought to stay running. Then, it died. The explosion unnerved Flicker, who was quite familiar with explosions from his own inventions, so he rushed to investigate. By the time he arrived, Seyon had already loaded another shell.

"Oh, I'll get it this time!" He exclaimed. He pulled the lever again, and once again there was a loud BANG! The engine coughed and sputtered. Seyon was watching the propeller spin as the engine turned over, desperately trying to stay alive.

"Come on, catch! Catch!" Suddenly the engine roared to life, and the plane trembled in response.

"Seyon, what were those explosions?" A nervous Flicker asked.

"Don't worry. That's just how I start the engines! Here, you try!" He handed a shell to him.

"No thanks. I'll let you have all the fun." He declared.

"Fine. Suit yourself." Seyon loaded another shell, and upon the blast, another engine started. It was only a matter of minutes before all the engines were running strong. Then he ran through one final checklist, and this one was done over the intercom.

"This is your captain speaking. The wings are _not _of fire, unlike that nasty little incident that happened a few days ago… There are _no _Gremlins on the wings… Oh, those poor people on that flight to Australia… And last, but not least, the airplane will _not _break in half during flight. We believe that we have fixed that problem."

Then Scarlet whispered an idea to him. "Good one!" he replied. He spoke through the intercom once again.

"I almost forgot to mention, there is _no _danger of the wings tearing off during the flight. That problem has also been fixed."

All on board were terrified, just as Seyon expected, so he tried to end their fear.

"Don't worry. I made all of that stuff up. None of it will _ever _happen. Now I need ya'll in your seats. We are preparing… for takeoff!"

He pushed some levers forward, and the plane slowly started to accelerate. He turned it around so that it faced a large clearing that made a perfect runway.

"Hang on, Scarlet. I'm going to gun it! Man, this is always my favorite moment of any flight!"

He pushed all four levers all the way forward. The plane started to shake violently as the massive engines revved up. At that moment, he released the brake, and the plane lurched forward. It kept going faster and faster, and then Seyon pulled up on the controls. All he and his co-pilot saw was sky. Scarlet looked out the window and was relatively indifferent. After all, she was a dragon. She had flown many times and had felt the same experience. Seyon quickly noticed this.

"Don't tell me that that wasn't cool! Seriously, wasn't that takeoff just awesome?"

"I've flown on my own many times before. It's just that… it's not new to me. I could have flown to Braigland by myself!" 

"I doubt that."

"Why? Do you doubt my abilities? We should take this outside right now!" she joked.

"Why don't you take a gander at my airspeed meter… um… thing?"

She looked at it, and was stunned. It read slightly over four hundred miles per hour. That sort of speed was completely unheard of. The gauge under it, the altimeter, was just as shocking. It indicated that they were just over thirty five thousand feet high, and yet the plane was still climbing. Several minutes later, Seyon relaxed his grip on the controls. He then announced their progress.

"We have reached our cruising altitude of forty two thousand feet, and our cruising speed of four hundred and fifty miles per hour. You all may get up and wander around, and… PARTY! Just don't break anything."

A little while later, Flicker walked into the cockpit, now that the plane had leveled off.

"How does all of this work?"

"I can't tell you, because I don't know how all of it works! Seriously, I don't know what many of these gauges do, or why they're here. I mean, look at this one. What in the world do I need a fuel reserve meter for? This plane has no fuel reserves! It has emergency fuel tanks, but those are taken care of by _this _gauge!"

"That's kind of strange. What does this gauge do?"

"That's the tachometer. It tells me how fast the engines are running."

"How about that one?" 

"That tells me the oil pressure in each engine. If the oil pressure is too low, then the engine will eat itself, and that's a _bad _thing."

"What about…" he was interrupted by Flame.

"Flicker… I… don't feel comfortable…. Would you come and sit next to me?" She was quite shaky and unsteady, so she leaned up against the cockpit doorframe to keep herself up.

"All right. You don't mind if I leave, right?" Flicker asked.

"You do whatever you want to." Seyon responded. The two disappeared from the cockpit.

"Scarlet, I need to use the lavatory, or whatever you English types call it."

"I'm from Scotland!"

"Really? You don't sound like it. Well, whatever. I want you to keep the plane steady. Don't worry, it's not difficult. Now if you have any problems, just push the 'autopilot' button, and the plane will fly itself. Are you ready? I'm going to hand the controls over to you."

Seyon slowly let go, and she immediately took up all the slack. He observed her for several minutes before feeling comfortable. When he returned, she was flying nice and steady. The next ten hours were completely uneventful. Then, the steady drone of the engines changed. Seyon noticed the engine number two's tachometer dropped to zero, and the plane started to veer sideways. He glanced out the window, only to find that the engine had stopped completely.

"What's wrong?" Scarlet had immediately detected that something was amiss.

"We've lost engine number two."

"What!? It fell off?"

"No. That just means that it quit running." he carefully looked over his gauges and quickly came to a conclusion.

"It looks like the fuel line's blocked. There's nothing that we can do about it from here. That's not cool! That's just not cool! I told them, 'stop using that cheap, unfiltered fuel,' but did they listen? No!"

"Will we be able to make it to Braigland?"

"Of course! We could make it with just two engines. It will just take us a little longer to get there. That's all." He then announced the news to the passengers, and fortunately, they were not overly concerned. 

Six hours later, they arrived over what would eventually be Braigland. From their point of view, it was obviously a fairly large island. However, the country looked entirely uninhabited.

"Now the time machine comes into play!" Seyon proudly stated. He again spoke through the intercom.

"All right, everyone. The time machine activation… um… occurrence will… occur shortly." He then pressed several buttons on the control panel, and spoke again.

"Hey Bradford, are you ready to bring us to my time?"

"Ready as always! Counting down in three, two, one…"

Suddenly, there was a faint flash. That was it. Scarlet, and all of the others, wondered whether anything had happened at all. She looked outside, and was astounded. Though the sun was setting by now, she could tell that the desolate island was now obviously inhabited.

Seyon once again pressed several buttons, and then spoke. "This is Seyon in the SB-4. Do I have clearance for landing?" The person he spoke to responded in the affirmative.

He brought the plane closer and closer to the ground. He lowered the landing gear, and they were quickly approaching the runway. He set the plane down very softly, and it eventually rolled to a stop. He then addressed the passengers.

"Welcome to Braigland! I hope you all had a pleasant experience flying with Seyon Air. If not, then tough! This is the only way for any of you to return home!"

He stopped the engines, left the cockpit, opened the door in the fuselage, and there was a staircase already waiting there. He was the first one down it. Scarlet followed right behind him. He walked only about twenty feet before stopping and taking in a large breath.

"Do you smell that, Scarlet? It's the scent of a tropical paradise. It's the scent… of Braigland!"

"I see what you mean!"

Flicker and Flame arrived shortly, along with everyone else. Meanwhile, Seyon gave some orders to the man attending the mobile staircase.

"Okay, I would like a large pizza with pepperoni and anchovies... Nah, I'm just pulling your leg. Have this plane taxied out of here. Also, engine number two has a blocked fuel line. See what you can do about fixing it." 

"Man, Seyon, you haven't changed a bit!" The man replied.

"Say, did Bradford leave the Seyon Steamer in my parking spot like I asked him to?"

"He sure did! He also has the bus that you requested ready."

"Thank you much! Here's a little something for your troubles." Seyon gave him a tip and then turned to speak to the dragons. Before he could say anything, Bradford, a black-haired man who was slightly taller than Seyon, arrived.

"Perfect!" Seyon began. "So here's the plan. Flicker, Flame, Scarlet, and I will take my Seyon Steamer. The rest of you get to ride in… the bus! With Bradford! I'm sorry, but that's the best I could do for you all. We'll meet at my house, which is, like, fifty miles away. Until then, audio!"

"I think you mean, _adieu._" Burnevere suggested.

"Whatever. I'll see you then!"

At that time, the two groups went their separate ways, one led by Bradford, and the other by Seyon. Flicker, Flame, and Scarlet believed that this "Seyon Steamer" was basically another term for the Beast. When they arrived, that was clearly not true. This car was sleek and slender, and it was painted a shiny, slick black. Seyon simply called it, "A steam-powered sports car." He unlocked it via a remote control, and the two doors, which opened vertically rather than horizontally, opened on their own. Flicker and Flame climbed into the back, which was apparently not as spacious as it seemed to be, and Scarlet sat down comfortably in the passenger seat. Seyon started the boiler with a key.

"All right, everyone, many people _dream _of driving a car like this, so you all should feel lucky. Anyway, prepare for the ride of your lives!"

"What exactly is different about this car?" Flicker asked.

"I'll tell you. This thing has the same engine that the Beast has, but it has been hot-rodded quite a bit. It runs at up to a thousand PSI, instead of just four hundred like the new Beast. Also, the body is made of ultra-light carbon fiber, not heavy and bulky steel. Overall, this car will blow your minds!"

He slowly backed the car out, turned around, and then headed for a long, straight road. The bus with everyone else had already left, and they were just a little speck on the horizon. The Steamer cruised down the road at about thirty miles per hour.

"So, Flicker, are you impressed yet?" Seyon asked.

"Um… not really…"

"Oh. Well then I guess I'll just have to open it wide!"

At that moment, he pushed the gas to the floor. The wheels spun, and the car took off like a bullet. The car started to shake, and soon they approached one hundred and twenty miles an hour. He pulled into the lane that was to the left of them, and they flew by the bus.

"Eat my steam!" Seyon shouted. As soon as the bus was a good ways behind them, they pulled back into the right lane.

"There, Flicker, are you impressed now?" Seyon glanced in the rearview mirror, and he could see that his eyes were wide open. He just nodded. Seyon then slowed the car to a safe fifty miles per hour, which was also the speed limit. They continued for several minutes before drawing close to a large road with three lanes in both directions.

"Friends, welcome to the _Diriuruihn. _That literally means, 'The Greatest Road.' Basically, it runs north and south, and there are no speed limits."

"Where does it go?" Flame inquired from behind him. 

"Well, it connects Southern Braigland to Northern Braigland. This road is the only connection between the two. I live in Southern Braigland, so we will be going… south, surprisingly. That's good, because I get to stay away from those dastardly Northern Braiglanders!"

"What's wrong with them?"

"Absolutely nothing. I just like to make fun of them for being from the North!"

He turned right onto a road that curved over the highway, and connected to the southbound side of it. Everyone could see the Braiglanders speeding on the highway in their mostly Seyon-built cars, apparently in a great hurry. As they were about to merge, Seyon hit the gas, and the car once again took off. With the speed that they gained, merging into the fast-moving traffic was effortless. He pulled into the next left lane when he got the chance.

"Okay, now see that lane next to us? Only a select few are able to enter that lane. The _minimum _speed limit is one hundred and forty miles per hour. This car, however, is certified to be in that lane, so hang on!"

He carefully, yet swiftly pulled into the special lane, and punched the gas. The car accelerated to an astounding two hundred and twenty miles per hour. Flame, Flicker, and Scarlet did not share Seyon's enthusiasm for that kind of speed. They were petrified.

"What? Am I going to fast? Come on! We're making _great _time!At this rate, it will only take us ten minutes to get there!"

"Slow down!" The dragons shouted in unison.

Seyon had no choice but to slow down to a still uncomfortable speed of one hundred and fifty miles per hour. Nevertheless, they remained at that speed for only about fifteen minutes before Seyon's personal exit came up. He merged right, and then right again. He slowed down quite a bit before leaving the super highway. By now, the sky was filled with stars, but everyone could see clearly with the Steamer's ultra-bright headlights. They continued for another four miles or so, and then they turned right into a gorgeous gateway that said "Seyon Manor." From then on was his driveway, which was at least a mile long. Then, amongst the numerous trees and loose vegetation appeared a gorgeous house, which was brilliantly lit up by exterior lights. Seyon called it "A Victorian Style Manor." 

"Whoa! Your house is so… groovy." Scarlet declared.

"I know, it's like, radical." Flame added.

"Flame! That's awesome! You're beginning to sound like me!"

"Oh no! I think I've been around you too long…" She joked.

Seyon parked the car, and all four of them got out, eager to see the interior of this magnificent house. He unlocked the door and entered first so he could turn on the lights. The interior was absolutely extravagant. There was a gorgeous staircase in front of them, and the banister must have been made out of black walnut or some other splendid wood. There was a magnificent chandelier above them that lit up the entrance room with its golden light.

"I take it that you three are totally beat." Seyon started. "Here's the deal. Scarlet and I will sleep in my master bedchamber. Flicker, Flame, you'll sleep in the master guest room, that is if you two don't mind sleeping together."

"Not at all! I would love it!" Flame exclaimed.

"Well, I um…don't mind it…" Flicker's cheeks were bright red.

"What? Are you too nervous to sleep with me?"

"Not… really…" Flame just smiled.

"King Allfire and Queen Griddle will sleep in guest house number one, half of the others in guest house number two, and the other half in number three. Enough said. Follow me."

He led them up the stairs, through a glorious hallway, and finally, to a room with a thick, heavy door. He opened it and flicked a switch next to door. The light revealed an extremely ornate room. There was a king-sized bed with a red silk comforter.

"Flicker, Flame, you'll be sleeping in here. The bathroom's through that door, over there. There's an extremely fancy Jacuzzi tub. I'm sure that you two will just love it! Now get yourselves unpacked. Scarlet and I are going to our room."

Scarlet and Seyon continued on. Flame just couldn't believe the magnificent house. She sat on the bed, and it was the softest and most comfortable bed that she had ever had the privilege of using.

"Come sit with me, Flicker."

He slowly approached the bed, and slowly sat down at least a foot from her. She scooted herself closer to him.

"What? Are you afraid of me?" She spoke very softly and sweetly.

"No… It just that… I need to get my things!" He took off out through the door. Flame snickered at his nervousness.

Meanwhile, Seyon and Scarlet had arrived at their room. It was even more ornate, which was hard to imagine. The bed was similar to the one in the master guest room, but there was a wonderful silk canopy over it. Scarlet threw herself onto it, and Seyon did the same.

"Man, _this _is the life! I could just fall asleep right now!" She declared.

"Ah… I forgot just how great this bed was!"

They were interrupted by the ring of the doorbell.

"That must be everyone else!"

Seyon shot out of bed and hurried to Flame and Flicker's room. Scarlet struggled to keep up with him. He knocked on their door, and Flame was the only one to answer.

"Everyone's here. Come with me!" He stated abruptly and excitedly.

He darted down the hall, with Flame and Scarlet trailing behind him. He got to the stairs, but rather than taking the stairs like a normal person, he flew onto the banister and slid all the way down, landing just in front of the door.

At the same time, Bradford was waiting outside, along with all the other dragons.

"All right, get ready in three… two… one… zero!"

Seyon opened the door right at that moment.

"Come in, everyone! Come in!" 

All of the dragons did as they were told. When they entered, they were quite impressed. Even Blaze was amazed by the splendid décor.

"Here's the plan. Griddle and Allfire, you'll sleep in guesthouse number one, Gallahot and Loungealot, you'll sleep in guesthouse number two, and Blaze, Burnevere, and Hotbreath, you'll sleep in guesthouse number three. Got it? Now there are numbers on all of them so you can't miss them."

Flicker had been wandering through the house, and he stopped when he found everyone in the entranceway.

"Now where are Flame and Flicker sleeping?" Griddle asked in an angry tone.

"Oh, they're sleeping in the guest room in this house!" Seyon stated, unaware of the trouble that he was causing.

"They will _not _sleep together!" she yelled.

"And just why not?"

"Flame is a princess, and therefore, she may _not _be associated with anyone less than a knight. Flicker is just a squire. Actually, he works for you. He's not even a squire anymore!"

"Come with me Seyon. I have an idea." Flame whispered to him from behind. She grabbed him by the arm and led him to the dining room.

"You're King of Edinburrough, so you have the power to knight him! Then, we _can _be together. Please, Seyon. _Please!_"

She was almost on her knees begging him.

"I'm sorry, Flame, but I won't knight him. Edinburrough has no order of knights. It would be pointless to do so."

She sighed, figuring that it was just fate that they could never be together.

"Don't worry. I do have an idea. An idea that's so brilliant, that it makes cheese look like saurkraut!" He dashed away, and then returned with a sword that he had taken from one of his display cases.

"Do you recognize this?" He held it out to her.

"It's Excaliburn!" She could clearly identify it, though it was considerably more worn and tarnished. "How did you get it?"

"Amazing, that eight hundred years in the future, it came into my possession, isn't it? All that I'll say is that I know more about you two than you think. Now go and make sure that Flicker is in the entrance room with everyone else. I need to think about… something… I just need to make sure that my plan won't backfire on me somehow! Don't tell them about Excaliburn."

She was confused by the request, but she knew that he had something up his sleeve, so she obeyed. When she arrived, to her delight, everyone was there. Seyon came shortly, and without a moment's hesitation, he spoke to Flicker.

"Bow down to your king!" He commanded. Flicker immediately bowed to Allfire, even though he had no idea why Seyon would command him to do so.

"No, no! Bow down to me! I'm _your _king!" Flicker quickly got up and bowed to Seyon instead. Seyon sighed, obviously nervous about what was to come. He tapped him on both shoulders with the much older Excaliburn. He seemed to be quite puzzled as Seyon proceeded.

"Flicker, you are no longer merely a squire, or whatever you currently are. You are now… _Prince _Flicker, heir to the throne of Edinburrough!"

Dead silence ensued, and Flicker nearly passed out.

"There, Queen Griddle. I believe that _that _should suffice." Seyon simply stated.

Flame was in a state of utter disbelief. Suddenly, Allfire noticed the sword.

"May I see that sword?" Seyon handed it over, as this is exactly what he had hoped would happen.

Allfire couldn't believe his eyes. He pulled out Excaliburn from its scabbard at his side, and compared the two side by side. Seyon's one was exactly the same, but it was obviously much older.

"How did you get this?" 

"Your descendants gave it to me for certain reasons that I am not allowed to discuss. I'll tell you though, that very sword is the very reason why I came to Camelhot. I was told that it belonged to you, and the time machine had just been completed, so I figured that was the perfect opportunity to see who the _original _owner of this sword was, and just what his kingdom was like. I'm so glad that I did! I would have never met Scarlet, my one true love." He kissed her on the cheek, and she smiled.

The statement had greatly overwhelmed everyone, and Seyon, sensing this, came up with a simple solution.

"Why don't we all go to bed? It's getting late, and I'm bushed, beat, and exhausted. In the morning, we're going to Hallard's Clothing Store to search for swimsuits, and don't worry. It's on me. I'm going to take you all to Clearwater Point, my personal beach!"

"Isn't tomorrow Independence Day?" Scarlet was proud of the fact that she actually remembered that.

"No. I was wrong. It's actually the day after tomorrow. Well, goodnight everyone!"

The crowd quickly dispersed, but Flame, Flicker, and Scarlet remained with Seyon.

"So… what exactly is the story behind Excaliburn?" Flicker inquired at once.

"I can't tell you."

"Please?"

"Yes, please Seyon?" Flame said, hoping to sway Seyon's mind.

"Nope. Truthfully, only Scarlet may know. You two will have to wait. Now go to bed before I get… slightly angry… And believe me, you won"t like me when I'm… slightly angry…"

The two realized that getting him to speak was not going to happen, so they headed to their luxurious room. Flame immediately climbed in bed, but Flicker hesitated to do so. After all, he had always slept by himself. Even so, had Griddle ever caught him lying in same bed as Flame, he would have been in deep trouble. However, he was now a prince. He could now do so without the slightest threat of danger. Then, Flame beckoned him to join her. He timidly crawled in bed with her, but he kept his distance.

"What is it, Flicker? Are you scared of me?" She slowly crept closer to him.

"Um… Well… You see…" He couldn't get a single sentence out.

"Ssshhh." She put her arm around him, and she could feel Flicker's heart pounding.

"Flicker! You don't have to be so tense. Just relax…" She kissed him softly on the lips.

New and unfamiliar emotions surged through Flicker. He had never felt that way towards anyone ever before. It was almost a revelation.

Meanwhile, Seyon and Scarlet were showing their affection in a much different way.

"Ahhh… This is so nice…" Scarlet said with a very relaxed tone.

"Well, I'm not comfortable! Would you please get off of me?"

"Why? You're so… soft…"

"Okay. Now you're just creeping me out!"

"Am I now?" She made a hissing noise, and then she pretended to bite him on the neck.

"Now what are you doing?"

"I'm a… vampire bunny!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that a 'vampire bunny' would be all that threatening."

"Well then, I guess I'm a vampire dragon!" 

Seyon then grabbed the pillow next to him and hit her over the head with it.

"Ha! Slay the dragon!"

She immediately stole the pillow from under his head and whacked him with it.

"Slay the human!"

"Oh! You are going _down!_"

They continued to beat each other with the pillows until Seyon finally gave up.

"Okay. You win. I'm exhausted. We've got a big day tomorrow, so we need our rest." With that said, the rambunctious pair finally went to sleep.

Seyon awoke early the next morning, and he quickly got up to make sure that everyone was getting ready. He visited all three guesthouses. Loungealot was still sound asleep and Gallahot apparently had been up for a while in guesthouse number two. Seyon pounded on the door quickly and repeatedly.

"Alright, alright! I'm up already! You don't have to break down the door!" Loungealot shouted from inside.

Everyone else was ready to go surprisingly, so he gathered everyone he could and brought them to his parlor, which was truly a magnificent room. Built in the wall of one side of it was a glorious pipe organ, which showed obvious signs of frequent usage.

"Seyon, would you play us a song?" Burnevere requested.

"Nah, it's too early…"

"Come on, you can do it!" Hotbreath added.

"Please! Show us what you can do!" Gallahot exclaimed.

"All right. I'll play just one song. Got it?" Everyone nodded.

He sat down on the bench in front of the three-manual organ, and pushed a button. Everyone could hear the faint drones of the blowers in the background. He then pulled out some stops and pushed others in. Then, he dragged his fingers across all of the keys, making a sliding sound. Immediately, he went into a fast, boogie style rhythm, which sounded rather bizarre on a pipe organ. He played with his left hand on the first manual, and right hand on the second manual in order to play two different sounds at the same time. However, the song was over in just over a minute. Fortunately, the organ's immense power convinced everyone else in the house, including Flame and Flicker, whose room he had forgot to visit, to gather in the parlor along with everyone else. Loungealot was, not surprisingly, the last one to show up.

"What's with all the racket?" he shouted.

"I call it music. Anyway, we're all here! All right, same drill as before. Flicker, Flame, Scarlet, and I will take the Steamer, and the others will take the bus!"

"You aren't going to drive like a maniac again, are you?" Flame asked from across the room.

"Hey, you aren't driving like a maniac if your car can handle your driving! But no, I will drive much… not manacially… er, miss 'you can't do more that two hundred miles per hour!'"

Everyone split into their groups and headed to the clothing store. This time, however, Seyon followed the bus. The trip took them only about four miles down the _Diriuruihn, _where they entered the parking lot of large, boring building. The interior of it was rather fashionable. It was not very crowded at that hour, so Seyon announced the plans.

"Okay, Flame, Scarlet, and Griddle, you'll go to the lady dragon's section over there. Everyone else will go to the gentleman dragon's section, and I will, by myself, go to the gentleman human's section. We will meet at this spot in half an hour. Oh, and each person may get only one bathing suit." He was looking particularly at Blaze. "What are you all waiting for? Go on!" The three groups split and went to their designated areas of the store.

Seyon was the first to finish since he only wanted to find a swimsuit that fit. Flicker was next, followed by Loungealot, who had some trouble finding anything in his size.

"This store is pathetic! I could hardly find anything!"

Seyon whispered to Flicker, "He's right. Hallard's has very little clothing that's meant to fit people who are shaped like a ball!"

Hotbreath, Gallahot, and Burnevere arrived next. The ladies all came together, and Scarlet had found a pair of nice sunglasses that she was wearing. Blaze was last, and he was a full ten minutes late. He had a very colorful outfit that seemed to match his personality perfectly. Seyon paid for all of it, and then they returned to their vehicles to travel back to his house, which again was a short trip due to the lack of speed limits on Braigland's "super highway." When everyone entered the house, Seyon gave further instructions.

"Okay, so here's the deal. I want everyone to change into your fancy swimsuits. Then, we'll go to my insanely and radically radical Clearwater Point, which is only about three miles from here. Go on now, change! Change like the wind! Oh, and meet right here when you're done."

They had finished changing and met at Seyon's grand entrance way shortly. It gave him a chance to see everyone's choice of swimwear. Flame had selected a one-piece bathing suit, just as he thought she would. Flicker's was almost the same as Seyon's, the only difference being that it had accommodations for a tail. Scarlet selected a scarlet bikini, not surprisingly. Everyone else's suits were fairly mild mannered, but Blaze's yellow and purple polka dot swimsuit stood out quite well. They split into their traveling groups, and once again, Seyon, Scarlet, Flame, and Flicker followed the bus in the Seyon Steamer. They took a road that went around his glorious mansion, and it led to a dirt and beaten path behind it. It continued for three or four miles, and it ended at a magnificent lagoon that was filled with crystal clear water. There were numerous palm trees lining the outer edge of the beach. Everyone got out of their vehicles as quickly as they had got in.

"Seyon! This is just awesome in every way!" Scarlet practically yelled.

"I know! It rocks out loud! Now set up your… wait… what ever happened to that boxing match between you and Blaze?" Seyon asked quite randomly.

"Well, I don't _really want_ to fight him, so I figured that if I don't do anything, then it will just slide away…"

Unfortunately, Blaze had apparently overheard them. He picked up a bucket that he had brought, filled it with sand, and crept behind Scarlet.

"Um, Scarlet, you might want to be careful…" Seyon pointed out. At that moment, Blaze dumped the entire bucket of sand over her head.

"I haven't forgotten!" Blaze shouted as he tried to hold in his laughter.

"Ahhhhh! That's it! You are going _down _you little…" She finished her sentence with a strong curse word. Blaze gasped in horror.

"Watch your language!"

"I'll teach you to tell me to watch my language!" She immediately tackled him, and the two rolled around in the sand, though neither of them was in any mood to fight. Seyon, Flicker, and Flame just stood there and watched in amusement.

"All right, break it up you two. I took you all here to have a blast, so I think that you can be friends for at least a couple hours!" Seyon finally yelled. Scarlet and Blaze got up on their feet.

"Okay, Blaze," Scarlet started. "No more hatred for at least… six hours."

"I agree." he replied.

"Okay, Scarlet, last one to the water is a… sucky person!" Seyon declared. The two then darted for the sea. Scarlet spread her wings and took to the air.

"Oh! Now _that's _cheating!"

"Why? I'm winning!"

Seyon finally made it to the waters, edge, but she had already landed there.

"Ha! You must be a sucky person!" She joked.

"I disagree." Suddenly, she jumped at Seyon, knocking him on the ground so that she was on top of him.

"Isn't this romantic?" She closed in for a kiss. However, Seyon saw Loungealot perform a pathetic belly flop into the lagoon, and, with a horrified look on his face, just pointed to something behind her. A huge wall of water created by Loungealot's immense shape poured over them to the point that they were completely submerged. When it receded, they were still in the same position, though they were now completely soaked.

"This isn't romantic anymore." Scarlet got up, and Seyon followed her. They walked up the beach to see what the others were doing. Gallahot, Burnevere, Hotbreath, and Bradford, though he had never actually seen Camelhot, were busy constructing a model of Camelhot out of sand. Blaze was lying on a blanket with a parasol over him, both of which he had taken from somewhere in Seyon's manor. Griddle and Allfire were lying on one of Seyon's towels close by. A little ways up the beach, Flicker and Flame were also sitting on a towel, and Flame was leaning up against her love, obviously enjoying spending time with him in the lagoon's gorgeous atmosphere. He had his arm around her, which was rather surprising, since it was not like him to show affection. Scarlet evidently felt a dire need to interfere. She snuck up from behind, and slowly approached Flicker. Then, she silently sat on the other side of him and then leaned up against him, trying to imitate the way that Flame was doing so.

"Scarlet!? What are you doing?" Flicker shrieked.

"I'm sorry. I just… like you… a lot. That's all."

"That's fine, but you can't love both me _and _Seyon!"

Seyon was standing behind them, and Flame was glaring at her. Scarlet realized that she had lost.

"Fine. You caught me. I just like to mess with you two!" She got up and darted away in one quick motion. At that instant, a loud ringing sound poured out of the steamer. Seyon took Scarlet by the hand and rushed over to it. When he got there, he picked up a telephone that was apparently mounted under the back seat.

"Hello? Yes, this is Seyon." He listened to the voice on the other side and didn't say anything else. He just hung up.

"Scarlet, there's trouble at the Capitol in Burgundy, in my office specifically. I have to go. Do you want to come with me? I'll have to drive like a maniac again."

"Of course I'll come with you!"

"Okay, just tell all the others that I'll need to leave and that I don't know when I'll be back. Also tell Bradford that he's in charge. Meanwhile, I'll get the ole boiler in this thing warmed up."

She took off, while Seyon started the steamer and put on his shirt that he had stowed away for just such an event. The boiler had just reached the pressure that it was set for by the time she got back. She climbed in on the other side, and the two were gone in a flash. They headed down the same road that they took to get to the lagoon, but due to its poor condition, they were unable to go faster than about fifty miles an hour. They swiftly went around his house and made their way out through front gate. He had to stop since another car was coming. They were stuck behind this car, which was holding a steady twenty miles per hour. He flew into the lane next to them, and passed it as though it was not moving at all.

"Seyon, where exactly is Burgundy?" 

"It's about thirty miles north. I should be able to make it there in less than ten minutes, due to my insane driving abilities!"

They finally merged onto the _Diriuruihn_, and he quickly merged into the far left lane, he hit the gas, and the car once again accelerated to an amazing speed. Scarlet glanced at the speedometer, and it read in excess of two hundred miles per hour. The two arrived in Burgundy in less than ten minutes. He merged all the way to the left and then got off the highway. He then rushed to a large, Roman style building that seemed to glisten in the sunlight. He shot out of the car and dashed inside. Scarlet struggled to keep up. He turned right and ran down a long corridor. He came to a large, heavy door at the end, which he threw open. Scarlet, who was still in her bikini, entered right behind him. She was just as stunned as Seyon was. Count Geoffrey was sitting in Seyon's chair in the octagonal office. His three evil knights were standing next to him.

"Greetings Seyon and Scarlet! I am now the King of Braigland!" He let out an evil laugh.

"How did you get here?" Seyon calmly inquired.

"My evil knights and I stowed away in that monstrous bird of yours."

"I don't know how you could have stowed away in that thing, but anyway, Braigland is governed by a democracy! We don't have a king. You would be the _president _of Braigland!"

"What's the difference?"

"Your power is greatly limited. Any bill that you wish to put into effect must be proposed in either house of Congress. Then, both houses must agree upon it. _Then _you can either sign it into law, or veto it! Besides, I would have to sign over the presidency to you. You can't just take it!"

Geoffrey gave a signal to Evil Knight Number 3. He walked over to the two, and he seized Scarlet, which was rather easy since she did not make the slightest attempt to struggle. He brought her to Geoffrey.

"All right Seyon. Sign over your presidency, or she will perish!" Geoffrey boasted.

"Awwww, that's not nice. Killing people is wrong." Scarlet simply stated. Seyon, however, quickly came up with a solution.

"Okay. But first, I must get the correct papers. I will be right back." He left the room. He then went to the phone in the capitol and made an emergency call to Thomas.

"All right. Scramble the Burgandy militia! I want them ready to break into my office in the Capitol by any means possible in ten minutes! Don't ask why, just do it! Or you'll be demoted to mailman! Got it?" He hung up, waited for about ten minutes, and the returned to the room.

"Okay, Geoffrey, I can't seem to find the papers. They might be in here somewhere…" He looked in his filing cabinet for the papers that didn't actually exist. He glanced out the window, and much to his surprise, the militia was waiting! He thought for sure that he would have to stall for more time. He walked into the center of the room and turned to Geoffrey.

"You know what, I am _so _not okay with the idea of you becoming president." 

"What?" He pulled out his sword and held it up to Scarlet's neck. She didn't seem to be the least bit worried.

"I guess I'll have to take you down." Seyon nicely declared.

"Oh yeah? You and what army?"

Seyon put his fingers in his mouth and gave a loud, sharp whistle. Immediately, soldiers poured into the room in every way possible. Some came in through the door, some came in through the window, which they broke, and some smashed in one of the walls and came in through that way. They all pointed their rifles straight at Geoffrey.

"Please! It's a militia." Seyon stated.

Geoffrey's sword fell out of his hand. Scarlet felt the crushing grip on her loosen, so she easily broke away and made her way back to Seyon's side.

"All right, men!" Seyon began, "Have him and his knights taken back to Castle Threadbare in their time." He then spoke to the highest-ranking officer there. "Okay, once you've taken care of that, dispatch the militia. Oh, and see about cleaning this mess up."

"Yes, sir!" The entire militia quickly marched out of the room.

"All right, Scarlet, let's go."

They left the building and jumped into the Steamer. Seyon put the engine into reverse, and they shot backwards. He put the engine into forward and the car darted in the other direction. However, he actually drove like a sane person afterwards.

"Do you know what day it is tomorrow?" Scarlet asked.

"It's Braigland's Independence day! Of course I know that!"

"That, and…?"

"Um… Tuesday?" 

"No…"

"Then what is it?"

"You mean you don't know! I have been in Camelhot nowhere near as long as you have and I know this! It's Flicker's birthday!"

"Holy cow! I need to get something for him! Well, it's been less than an hour since we left. I suppose I could spare another hour…"

Rather than going on the _Diriuruihn _as he originally intended to, he drove around Burgundy, Braigland's largest city, for a little while, all the while cursing at the sparse traffic. Finally, he came up with the perfect gift idea. He proceeded toward Braigland's magnificent highway. 

"Okay, Scarlet, here's the plan. For a gift, I'm going to take everyone to the _Danzclubin_, which is one far out dance house! Tomorrow is electronic music night there, and that's my favorite night. After that, I'll take you all to Mayfield's Grill, which is Braigland's most exquisite restaurant. That night will rock!"

"So what does _Danzclubin _mean in Braig?"

"Nothing. Not a thing at all. It's actually _Dance club_, but it has been manipulated to sound as though it's Braig."

Just then, they approached a building that had a large sign next to the street that said "Animal Shelter." 

"An animal shelter! Please, can we stop, Seyon, dear? Please?"

"Fine. But you can't get any animals, so don't think about it. Don't think about thinking about it. In fact, don't think about thinking about thinking about it!"

With that somewhat understood, he made a quick turn into the parking lot. They both hopped out, and Scarlet entered the building before Seyon had a chance to lock the car. When he entered, the air was full of the sound of barking and yelping. Scarlet had not made it far.

"So, what do you think so far?"

"I must admit, I'm not really a dog person." Scarlet declared.

Nevertheless, they walked down several of the isles. She seemed to be quite disinterested all together. Every once in a while, she would stop at a cage and would take a closer look at the canine inside, but she would do nothing else. Finally, they had traveled down every isle. Scarlet then noticed a door with a sign that said "Cats This Way." She and Seyon quickly entered it.

"Seyon, I _love _cats!"

She stopped at nearly every cage. There were many different kinds of cats, and she did not seem to prefer any particular breed. Then, she came to a cage that contained a one-year old tabby. He put her hand through the bars, and the cat detected that immediately, so it got up and rubbed against her fingers. She could feel it purr.

"Seyon, may I hold this one?"

"…Fine. Let me find someone." He left, and was back in an instant with an employee.

"Yeah, she wants to hold that one." 

The employee pulled out a key and opened the cage. He picked the cat up and handed her to Scarlet, who was very cautious. However, the tabby seemed to be very fond of being held, as it continued to purr.

"Come with me, Seyon and… um… you… dragon lady." He was puzzled as to why Scarlet was wearing a bikini in an animal shelter. However, she was with Seyon, so that seemed to explain everything.

He led them to a small room, which replicated a typical living room. Scarlet set the cat down, and she came right back to her. She jumped into her lap, and was obviously very comfortable. Seyon leaned over and petted her, and she enjoyed that as well. Scarlet decided to make her move.

"Seyon, may I _please _keepher?"

"Hey! What was the deal we made when we came here?"

"Pretty please?"

"I don't want to have to take care of her!"

"I'll do everything! I swear!"

Seyon finally gave in. "Okay, you may keep her. When you first held her, I could tell that you two were inseparable."

Scarlet was overjoyed. Seyon left to take care of all the paperwork and everything else involved while Scarlet waited in the room, playing with her new friend. Finally, Seyon returned with several items, such as a litter box, a pet carrier, a food and water dish, and of course, food. He had stuffed them all the items in the carrier to make it as easy as possible.

"All right, let's go! Before we return to the beach, we must go back to my house to drop off the cat. Oh God! I hope Flame or Flicker isn't allergic to cats!"

They quickly loaded up the Steamer and were on their way. It was a relatively short journey south to Seyon's manor. When they pulled up the driveway, the bus was already there. When they entered, Seyon was stuck once again with all the items that the cat required. They could hear Bradford's voice coming from Seyon's parlor. He was apparently telling stories about all the great things that Seyon had done. Seyon hurried up the stairs and dropped off all of his stuff, and Scarlet followed him.

"I'm sorry, but we'll leave Whiskers, or whatever her name will be, up here. I'll set everything up. You go change out of that bikini." He tore open the food and put some of it in the food dish, and put some water in the water bowl that was built into it. He filled the litter box up and that was it. Scarlet had finished changing, so they rushed down stairs to join the other dragons.

"Did you all get bored?" Seyon asked. No one gave him a straight answer.

"Well, our beautiful ten foot model of Camelhot got swept up by a wave that Loungealot created. It was higher than the hieglands themselves! We became discouraged, so we wanted to leave. I don't know about the others, though." Burnevere said.

"Hey! Don't blame me! It was your fault for building the castle so close to the shore!" Loungealot snapped.

"So anyway, what kind of stories have you been telling them, Bradford?" Seyon wanted to make sure that he wasn't making anything up.

"Mostly things such as the Great War for Independence."

"Oh. Do you want to tell them how Braigland _really _got its independence?"

"No. You go right ahead."

Seyon sat down in a chair and told the story.

"Okay. There was no 'War for Independence.' Basically, I got a bunch of investors to loan me a ton of money, and then we bought this island from Papua New Guinea with the understanding that it would become a country. That was it. However, the investors wanted their money back, with interest. Braigland at the time had a population of around five hundred, most of them being natives. We couldn't pay them back. We didn't even have an economy of our own! Therefore, I started Seyon Steel with money from more investors to get the economy going. I was hoping that it would make us just enough money. That didn't happen! Instead, it grew into the most productive steel plant in the world. Then, several smaller divisions of the company were created that made products other than steel. I paid back all the investors with seventy five percent interest, which was far more than they could have wished for. I became filthy rich, so I donated about three quarters of my money to Braigland's treasury. That's why Braigland is what it is today."

"Why did you start your own country?" Allfire inquired.

"I was sick of how some of the other countries were doing, so I figured that I'd start my own, and I would run it my way. That's enough about Braigland and me. I want to do something… but what…?" He thought for a while. Suddenly Flame walked up to him and announced her plans for the rest of the day.

"Seyon, Flicker and I want to go on a picnic by the lake in your backyard. We'll be back in a while."

"Hold on! You are not going anywhere!" She was startled by his refusal.

"What!?"

"I said that you are not going anywhere! Not unless you have some food! Come with me. Oh, and Flicker must come to."

Flame summoned her beloved with one quick motion of her hand, and Seyon led the couple to the kitchen.

"Okay. Here's the pantry. Take anything that you want from it, and put it in this basket." He pulled a wicker basket off one of his shelves and handed it to Flicker.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have something for you two. While I try to find it in that there basement, you two pick out your foodstuffs." Seyon opened a nearby door and disappeared through it. He came back out in just a couple seconds.

"Okay. That was _not _the basement! The basement is through _that _door! I designed this manor myself. You'd think that I would know these things!" He entered through the door that he had pointed to and walked down a flight of steps into the darkness. By the time Flicker and Flame had gathered everything that they wanted to take, Seyon had arrived with a dusty bottle.

"Here, this is for you two. It's a bottle of La Fleur Petrus Pomerol. That's wine, by the way. It's a 1945 vintage from the Bordeaux region of France. I hear that this stuff is fantastic!" He handed the bottle to Flame, and she carefully observed it. She quickly realized that it was not a cheap, everyday bottle of wine.

"If I may ask, how much did this cost?"

"Well, I got a good deal on it. I picked it up for… six thousand dollars, I think it was." Her eyes opened wide.

"I'm sorry, but we can't accept this!"

"You are wrong. You _can _accept it, and you _will!_ Come on, it's a gift!" She reluctantly accepted the bottle.

"Thank you, Seyon. You know, you are the most generous person I know." She and Flicker proceeded out the door.

"Wait! You'll need these!" Seyon held up two wine glasses and a corkscrew. Flame took them and then left with Flicker.

"I can't believe that Seyon gave that to us!" He was obviously amazed by Seyon's kindness.

"Well, I hope that it's as good as he says it is. For that price, it had better be!"

They walked on a worn trail that led to the lake. They had heard about Seyon's lake, but had never seen it. When they arrived, they were awestruck. The large lake was surrounded by beautiful evergreens. The water was crystal clear, and there was not a cloud in the sky. The temperature was absolutely perfect, not too warm, and not too cold, just as it usually was in Braigland. They could hear the gentle lapping of the gorgeous water against the shore. They set up their picnic spot on the perfect grass that enclosed the lake on every side.

"Flicker, this is amazing!"

"I know! It's absolutely beautiful."

"Isn't it?" Seyon said from behind them.

"What are you doing here?" Flame was somewhat upset, as she wanted to be alone with Flicker.

"Don't worry about me. Scarlet and I are going to take my submarine for a spin in the lake. You won't even see us!"

He took off, and then he came back riding backwards on a tractor with Scarlet next to him. Attached to be back of the tractor it was a long bar that connected to a trailer. On the trailer was a large tube-shaped device with a propeller sticking out the back. The front of it consisted of a large, thick glass dome. There was a round hatch on top of the underwater vehicle, and four fins toward the back. Seyon backed the trailer into the water until it was completely submerged, leaving only the hatch of the submarine sticking out of the water. He pushed a button and jumped off the massive piece of machinery after he had turned it off. At once, the submarine apparently broke loose, and it began to float freely above the trailer. Seyon opened the thick hatch on top of it, and Scarlet climbed in first. Seyon followed.

"All right! You two have fun!" He shouted to Flicker and Flame. He disappeared into the device, and the hatch slammed shut. It started moving, and when it got to be a good ways away from the shore, it sank beneath the waves, leaving only a cluster of bubbles to show where it had been.

"That was odd…" Flame had never seen such a device before.

"I guess that they can travel underwater. I should try to make one of those!"

"Oh, Flicker. You and your inventions."

Flicker pulled out from the picnic basket a huge bag of potato chips, a snack food that was completely new to him, and he tore it open.

"Wow, these are great! Try some!" He held the open end toward Flame, and she took one chip out and ate it.

"You're right!" They devoured them.

"I'm sorry, but all this salt is making me thirsty. I guess I'll try that bottle of wine." She very slowly pulled out the cork and poured just a tiny bit into one of the wine glasses. She felt guilty after doing so, so she warily took a sip, and then stopped, judging the flavor to the fullest extent that she could.

"This is the best wine I have ever tasted!" As a princess, she had tried numerous wines, some very elegant, and others very basic. Yet the old, dusty bottle that Seyon had given to them topped them all.

"Flicker, try some!" She poured some into the other glass for him. He took a sip just as she had done.

"Yes. It's definitely good…" He had tried maybe one or two bottles of wine in his life, so he could not tell the difference.

"So anyway, tomorrow's already your birthday. Time flies so fast…"

"I wonder what I'll get. It's usually not that much. Loungealot never gave me anything!"

"Well, Scarlet had told me what Seyon was planning for you. I won't tell you anything, but I think that you'll have the time of your life! Maybe I'll give you my gift right now!"

"What is it?"

Flame leaned closer to him and gave him a heartfelt kiss. He kissed her back. She was speechless, as he had caught her entirely by surprise.

"Flame, I must tell you something, something that I had never thought I'd say to you… I… love you..."

Her heart skipped a beat. She always wished to hear those words, but she thought that that would be no more that just a dream. All she could do was hug her one true love with tears of joy flowing from her eyes.

At that time, Seyon and Scarlet were scouring the lakebed, which was nearly two hundred feet underwater. The powerful lights attached to the submarine, which were in fact just modified car headlights, lighted up the scenery perfectly.

"Seyon, this is just sweet in every way! You know… we can do almost _anything _here! We are completely alone. No one can see us, no one can hear us, and no one can get to us!"

"What about that fish over there?"

"Okay, so maybe that fish can see us, but who cares?"

"Fine. So what is it you want to do?"

"I'll let you figure that out." 

Seyon though for a few moments, and then he kissed her. She wasn't expecting him to do that, but she wanted that exactly.

"Man, Seyon, you know me all to well!" She immediately kissed him back.

"Wait, wait! Let me set this thing down!" He eased the submarine down further and further, and then he set down very softly on the mushy lakebed.

"Okay. _Now _we can continue!" They both kissed each other at the same time.

"It sure is hot in here…" Scarlet stated as she started to take her dress off.

"Oh, don't you think about it! Cease and desist!"

She stopped immediately. "I'm just messing with you! I just _love _it when you give me that 'You're freaking me out!' look! It's totally awesome!"

"I disagree."

"I disagree that you disagree!"

"Well, I disagree that you disagree about me disagreeing!"

"I disagree that…" 

"Stop! Ssshhh! Cease and desist once again!"

"Okay." She kissed him at the same time that he kissed her.

They continued for nearly half an hour until Scarlet noticed a strange button that said "Blow."

"Seyon, what does this button do?"

"Okay, basically, submarines have ballast tanks. Put air in them, and they go up. Put water in them, and they go down. In an emergency, that button will allow air to be forced into the ballast tanks, thus returning us to the surface." 

"May I push it?"

"I'd rather you not. It's hard on stuff, and it is quite… um… impressive. The submarine will jump right out of the water! But tell you what, when we're ready to go up, you may push it. What, are you ready to go up?"

"Only if you are!" 

Seyon glanced at the battery meter, and it indicated that the batteries were quite low, but not too low, however, the little submersible was quite small with two people inside it. "Fine. Let us ascend! Push the button!" 

Scarlet pushed the button, and an immense sound that resembled that of a flushing toilet shook the entire submarine. At once they ascended extremely rapidly. Within seconds they had breached the surface of the water and the submarine leaped into the air. It came down with a huge splash. Seyon then steered them back to the trailer. He opened the hatch, and he immediately got out. He jumped back onto the tractor, and waited for Scarlet, but she had already gotten out as well. He pushed the same button that released the submarine, but this time, it was sucked down back onto the trailer with a loud CLUNK.

"Electromagnets! They're great for holding submarines down on trailers!" Seyon proudly stated. He simply leaped off the tractor without even starting it, and he walked over to Flicker and Flame who were kissing each other, with Scarlet right behind him.

"All right! Sorry about interrupting you two, but Scarlet and I are going inside. We're going to play a tournament of 'Slay the Dragon.' You two may come inside and join us at anytime."

"Slay the dragon!? You're going to slay us!?" Flicker was shocked that Seyon would suggest such a thing.

"Of course! I'm going to go up against Scarlet first. I'll totally slay her!" 

"How dare you say that you are going to kill her!" 

"Kill her? Oh, no! Slay the Dragon is just a game. It's basically Braigland's version of fencing. We call the game 'Kiestve' when it's human against human, but it's called 'Slay the Dragon' when it's a human versus a dragon, or a dragon versus a dragon. If you two wish to join us, you are more than welcome two."

Seyon walked back to the house with Scarlet by his side. He walked over to Bradford, who was still in the parlor.

"I need you to put away my submarine. It's still on its trailer in the lake." Seyon commanded.

"Very well." Bradford was off.

Meanwhile, Flicker and Flame had just entered the door.

"Ah! There you two are!" Seyon was surprised to see that they had returned so soon. 

Flicker and Flame informed him that they wished to participate in the game. Seyon led them to his spacious parlor, and he gathered all the supplies necessary for the game, which were all located in various placed throughout the parlor.

"All right, let's begin!"

To be continued…


	6. Flicker's Birthday

Flicker's Birthday

Seyon had just begun a full tournament of "Slay the Dragon." Naturally, he would go first, since he was the only one who knew how to play the game. He gave a quick overview of the rules. 

"Okay. Basically, the idea is to deal a 'lethal blow' to your opponent, and then, you win! The lethality of a hit is determined by a judge… Flicker, is lethality a word?"

"I think so."

"Sweet! Anyway, I will judge every match that I'm not in, due to my inherent greatness. Hmmm… Burnevere, you can judge in my stead when I am up."

"Aye."

"The opponents start off facing each other, and when the signal is given, the match starts, and that's about it." 

He picked up two rapiers, kept one, and poorly tossed the other one to Scarlet, who completely failed to catch the sword. She retrieved it, inspected it closely, and realized that it posed no threat whatsoever. The blade was thin and round, and therefore had no sharp edges. To top it off, there was a rubber ball firmly attached to the end of the blade to make it as safe as possible. 

"Wait… I thought you said that you had never used a sword before!" Flicker remembered the events of that day in Edinburrough all too clearly. 

"These aren't swords. These are rapiers! I'm great with one of these!"

"But a rapier _is _a sword!" 

"Oh… Well then… silence! Let's begin!"

Seyon and Scarlet walked into the middle of the parlor, which was empty, except for a lavish rug. They faced each other.

"Are you ready lad and lassie? Then let the battle begin!" Burnevere hollered. 

Seyon immediately raised his rapier up, poised to fight. Scarlet, however, did nothing. She simply stood there with her sword in her hand. 

"Come on, do something! I'm going to slay you!" He poked her in the shoulder twice. 

"Hey! That's not nice!" 

"Well, then, I guess I'll… slay Flame!" Seyon rushed over to her, and in one quick, fluid motion, he went behind her and put the sword against her neck. 

"Go ahead." Scarlet simply stated. 

"Fine. What if I… slay… Flicker instead?" He immediately did the same to him.

"That doesn't bother me!" 

At once, Seyon released Flicker and walked back into the center of the parlor. 

"So, would you like to tell me why you're just standing there?" 

"Come on! These swords aren't the least bit sharp! I don't think that you could kill a fly with these things! Why do I need to worry?" 

"You're supposed to _pretend _that they are real swords, and you are supposed to _pretend_ that you are in realdanger! That's the idea of the game!"

"Oh… Well then, prepare to meet your doom!" She leaped at Seyon. He simply moved to the side and stuck his foot out. She tripped, and as soon as she hit the ground, Seyon swung around and pointed his sword at her neck. 

"Burnevere, would you say that that's a lethal blow?" Seyon knew that he had won.

"Aye. I don't know if you're allowed to threaten people in the audience, but you've won!"

"Whoa! That was fast!" Scarlet exclaimed as she got back up on her feet. 

"Flicker, Flame, you two are going next." Seyon had chosen them to go next as he was very curious to see their battle. When he signaled the start of their match, the two immediately began. Overall, no one seemed to be winning for the most part. Finally, Flicker knocked Flame's sword out of her hand, and the match stopped, with Flicker as the winner. 

The matches continued for about two hours. Some of them were jokes, and others were serious. Everyone played except for Griddle. Finally, it came down to the last two contestants: Flicker and Seyon. Once again, Burnevere was the judge. He started the match just as he had done before. Flicker and Seyon proved to be quite equal, and neither of them had the upper hand. Their swords clashed for nearly five minutes. Whoever won that battle one would win the tournament. 

"Come on Flicker! Win this one for me!" Flame shouted from the audience, trying to encourage her love. 

"Seyon, I don't particularly care whether you win or not!" Scarlet simply stated in response to Flame's comment. 

The skirmish continued on. Then, in a move that Seyon failed to anticipate, Flicker grabbed his arm, disabling him. Then, Flicker merely had to put his sword against Seyon's neck, as the seemed to be the preferred method of defeating an opponent. 

"Dang, Flicker! You were awesome! You are one of the few who has bested me." Seyon panted. 

"You were good, too." Flicker replied, trying to catch his breath. Flame rushed over to him and hugged him. 

"Flicker! You were great!" she was absolutely overjoyed with his skill. Scarlet, seeing this, leaped at Seyon, who caught her. She kissed him numerous times, and he simply held her. When the celebrating calmed down, Seyon announced the plans for the rest of the night. 

"Okay. It's getting late, so Scarlet and I are going to bed. You all may stay up if you wish; just don't make a lot of noise. Or destroy anything expensive. I don't care so much about cheap stuff, so long as it doesn't lead to the destruction of expensive stuff." 

Scarlet and Seyon headed up the stairs to their room. When they entered, Scarlet abruptly shouted for no apparent reason, "I know what my cat's name will be! Patsy!" 

"That's a good name. But anyway, let's get to bed." 

Patsy was lying on the bed, waiting for her master and her master's boyfriend. When they climbed in, the tabby happily fell asleep at Scarlet's feet. Seyon turned off the lights, and the room fell silent. 

They awoke to buzz of Seyon's alarm clock at nine in the morning. Once again, he rushed throughout the manor to get everybody up. Once again, he pounded on Loungealot's door. 

"I'm up! I'm up! Stop that racket!" Loungealot shouted from his bed. Seyon darted to guesthouse number three, and he woke everyone inside. He then rushed back into the house and waited for everyone in the parlor. One by one, the dragons arrived. Loungealot was again the last one to arrive. 

"Flicker, it's your birthday. Do you want to do anything particular?" Seyon asked, as he had made no plans for that morning. 

"Not particularly. I don't even know what we can do! This place is still new to me." 

"Let's see…" Seyon thought for a moment. "Well, there's a beauty pageant that occurs on every Independence Day. Do you care?"

"Not really." 

Suddenly, Griddle hatched a most devious plan. 

"Seyon, who is allowed to enter?" 

"Both humans and dragons. Dragons in the early competition, humans in the later one. Why?" 

"I want Flame to enter." 

"What? Why do I have to enter the pageant?" Flame shouted in utter surprise. 

"As a princess, you need to know how to show your beauty. This is a perfect opportunity!" 

Flame knew that she had no choice. She had to enter, however, she did not want to enter alone. 

"Scarlet, would you be willing to enter with me?" Scarlet was her only hope.

"Maybe. What do I get out of this?" 

"I'll let you have the rest of that fancy bottle of wine that Seyon gave to Flicker and me." 

Scarlet didn't even stop to think. "You've got a deal!" She could never refuse a bottle of anything. 

"Well then, it's settled! We'd better get going. I'll take you two to a fancy beauty shop. Scarlet, get your bikini. The crowd always seems to like that stuff. Flame, wear whatever you want."

The two contestants disappeared, and they quickly returned with the attire that they wished to wear.

"Excellent! Flicker, Flame, Scarlet, and I will leave now. Bradford, get those two registered. Pose as me if you have to. Then take everyone in the bus to the pageant when it starts."

"You've got it!"

"Seyon, may I come with you all?" Blaze realized that he was missing on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"I'm sorry, but there's not enough room in the Steamer." Seyon simply replied. Then, he, along with Flicker, Flame, and Scarlet, departed for the beauty salon. Seyon took them to Burgundy, a short trip on the _Diriuruihn_. He left the freeway, and it was only a matter of a few miles into the town when they came across their destination. Seyon parked the steamer. They all walked inside, and Seyon gave some simple instructions to one of the stylists. 

"These two here are entering into that beauty pageant. Do whatever needs to be done to them to make them competitive, or whatever." 

"Of course, Seyon." 

"About how long will this take?"

"Somewhere around an hour."

"Okay. I'm going to leave you two here. Flicker and I are going… elsewhere… We'll be back in an hour or so."

Flicker and Seyon walked out the door and got back into the Steamer. They cruised around Burgundy, having no particular place to go. 

"Flicker, what do you want for your birthday?" Seyon asked quite suddenly.

"Gee, I don't know. I never gotten much before, so I guess I've become used to getting almost nothing." 

"That's too bad… But seriously, you think about it, and just tell me when you've figured it out." 

Flicker obviously wanted to wait until he thought of the perfect gift. Seyon just continued to drive around town aimlessly. All of the stores were closed, except for some of the more exquisite beauty parlors just for the pageant. Finally, an hour had passed. By that time, Scarlet and Flame had just finished. They came out of the store, and Flicker's jaw dropped. Flame was absolutely gorgeous. Her purple hair, though fairly short, was combed in a much different, more elegant style. She was wearing eyeliner, mascara, and a deep red lipstick. Scarlet was just as beautiful. Her scraggly hair was now silky smooth, though it was still reminiscent of her usual hairstyle. She also had mascara and eyeliner, but her lips now almost the same color as her hair. When the two contestants entered the Steamer, Flame sat next to Flicker, and he could hardly speak to her. Seyon, however, had no problem speaking to Scarlet. 

"Scarlet, stop licking your lips. You'll rub all your lipstick off." 

"Fine. I'll try…" She had never worn lipstick, except for a few special occasions. 

"Flicker, why haven't you spoken to me?" Flame inquired, as he had hardly even looked at her. He just stared out the window of the Steamer. 

"Well… I… um…" 

"Even though my looks have changed, I'm still me. You can still talk to me." At that, Flicker finally was able to look her in the eyes as he spoke to her. 

"Flame, you are absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you, Flicker!"

They closed in for a kiss, but were interrupted when Seyon shouted "Hang on!" At that moment, the Steamer shot out onto the street, skidding sideways. It was less than a mile of maniacal driving to Burgundy Hall, where the pageant was to be held. When they arrived at the door, no spectators were allowed in, as it was time for only the contestants to enter.

"Who are you two?" The attendant asked Flame and Scarlet.

"I am Scarlet." 

"And I am Princess Flame." 

"Hmmm…. A princess, you say? Let's see…" The attendant looked through his list, and then he said, "Ah yes. Seyon registered you two this morning. Come right in!" 

"Good luck to you both!" Seyon said as the dragons entered through the door. They disappeared, and Flicker and Seyon headed back to the Steamer, as they still had another hour before they would be allowed in the audience. 

"Well, what should we do?" Flicker asked. 

"I could take you to Scarlet. That would kill about an hour."

"Scarlet? But she already went inside!"

"No, no. Scarlet is also the name of a town in Northern Braigland. Population two hundred and forty two! Oh, and there's one or two grouches in there. Anyway, their town square is so neat!" 

"Let's go!" 

Seyon drove down several streets before coming to the _Diriuruihn. _He merged onto the northbound side of the highway, but he didn't drive as fast as usual in order to kill as much time as possible. After cruising down the highway for a while, Seyon got off and drove down a windy road. Then, they came across Scarlet, which was a small, quaint town. It was based off a western town, and the road going through the square was dirt.

"I seem to have made a mistake. I forgot that everything would be closed on the square. That would explain why nobody is here. I feel like an idiot, but that's probably because I _am _an idiot! Wheee!" 

"Now what should we do?"

"We'll go back to my house, and we'll meet up with Bradford and the rest. Does that sound good?"

"Sure." 

At that, Seyon and Flicker left Scarlet and arrived at the manor after half an hour of uneventful driving. When they arrived, they found that Bradford and the dragons were just about to leave for the pageant. Flicker and Seyon waited for them to leave so that they could follow the bus. When they arrived at the pageant, the contest was just about to start. 

"Is this contest just for dragons?" Flicker asked Seyon as they were getting out of the Steamer.

"Yes. There will be one for humans later tonight, but I don't care to go to that one. Hmmm… I fell like I've explained this earlier. Anyway, I usually don't go to any of them anyway. One time, they asked me to be a judge, but I told them that I was sick." 

Flicker and Seyon joined the rest of the dragons at the entrance. There was a long line to enter, but Seyon and the dragons were able to bypass it due to the fact that Seyon was the president of the entire country. They entered the building, and on the inside, there were numerous seats arranged in a stadium fashion. They, however, got front row seats. Then, they waited silently for another half an hour while the stadium filled up. Finally, the contest started. 

One by one, a judge would call out a name, and then a dragon would come out on stage and present herself in her own special way. Then, the judges would carefully take notes and would come to a decision that they would reveal after all the ladies had gone up. Flicker noticed that Seyon was glaring at the floor.

"Is that a special piece of tile or something? You've been staring at it for quite a while!" 

"Yes! It is the only tile in the world that looks like that! Nah, I'm insanely bored. So much so that it's… insane! That's why I don't come to these things."

"I see…" 

"All the way from Medieval England," one of the judges started, "And amazingly Seyon's girlfriend, Scarlet!" 

She proudly walked across the stage, though she showed no special flare of any sort. It was as though she didn't know how to be beautiful. However, she still made a dazzling appearance. Then, she walked off stage and the judge announced the next contestant. 

"Now a real-life princess from Camelhot, England, Flame!" 

She came out on stage and acted just as Griddle had taught her to so many times. She gracefully sauntered across the stage in her finest dress, leaving Flicker absolutely speechless. He had never seen such a beautiful dragon, and yet, she was his. However, that glorious moment was short-lived. She soon left the stage, signaling the end of the contest. At that time, all the contenders line up on stage, waiting for the judges verdict. Many of the ladies watched nervously, as this very moment could determine their future. Flame and Scarlet were calm and completely unconcerned. Finally, the judges were done conversing, and one of them stood up and announced the results. 

"This was a tough year. All of you are so beautiful that it was hard to make a decision. Therefore, we looked particularly for something unique, and from that, we figured out which one of you is to be the next Queen of Braigland. The one who shall be crowned today is… Scarlet." 

Scarlet had a look of sheer bewilderment as he placed a golden crown on her head. 

"When you walked up on stage today, you had the look of an ordinary women walking on the beach. You wanted to go up here and present yourself in the way you wanted without any regards as to what others would think." 

"…Um… sure. I'll go with that."

The judge handed her a microphone. 

"Speak and tell the audience just how you feel." 

"Well…" She was startled when she heard herself over the sound system. "Hey, that's kind of cool! Well, this is truly shocking. When I woke up this morning, I didn't even know about this pageant. Truthfully, I didn't want to be here. Flame offered me half of a bottle of nice wine if I entered with her, so I did. Yet here I am, with a crown on my head! Sweet! Okay. I'm done. Peace out!" She handed the microphone back to the judge. 

"Naturally, there is a runner up in every contest. We knew that we could choose none other than Flame, whose sheer splendor and grace astounded us all." 

The judge placed a silver crown on her head. 

"And finally, third place is… Corlea." 

The judged place a copper crown on her head. She was younger than Flame and Scarlet, but possessed a hair color that was nearly the same as Scarlet's hair, though it was much closer to crimson. Her eyes were of a piercing green color, and she had a smile that seemed to light up the entire room. 

"Hmmm… Corlea… I like that name." Seyon thought to himself. 

After numerous pictures were taken of the winners, the contest was over. Seyon and the dragons hurried outside and waited for Scarlet and Flame. They soon showed up, surrounded by a bunch of people who each represented different modeling agencies. 

"Why are there so many people around them? Are they solicitors, or are they just fans?" Burnevere asked Seyon.

"Most women who enter the pageant do so in order to obtain a job in modeling. I'm sure Flame and Scarlet are confusing them since they don't want such a job! Those poor fools!" 

By that time, Scarlet and Flame had made it to the rest, though they were still surrounded. 

"No, I don't want to work for any of you. Stop asking! Ahhh!" Scarlet shouted to the crowd. Finally, the mob dissipated. 

"Seyon! They just came out of the walls, man. They came out of the walls!" Scarlet declared. 

"Oh, that's strange; they usually come out of the bushes. Anyway. Let's go back to my place." Seyon suggested.

Just as the three were about to leave in the Steamer, Seyon saw Corlea running towards them out of the corner of his eye. He rolled down the window, and she ran up to it, bracing herself on the windowsill. 

"Seyon… May I come with you?" she asked nervously. 

"Let me see… Do you two think she can sit back there?" Seyon said as he turned to face Flicker and Flame. 

"Sure. She seems nice." Flame replied. 

At once, the young dragon climbed in the compact back of the Steamer, squishing Flicker and Flame together. She was silent for quite a while as they steamed down the _Diriuruihn. _Finally, Flame decided to speak, since Corlea was closest to her. 

"So, Corlea, where are you from?" 

"I was born and raised in Australia, and I moved here." 

"Do you have family here?" 

"…No. I'm an orphan. I felt that I had a better opportunity here, where dragons and humans live peacefully among one another, Aunt Flame." 

"Aunt Flame?"

"Oh… Um… Sorry. I was thinking about… my aunt in Australia." 

At that moment, they flew past the exit that led to Seyon's manor, and Seyon did not even flinch. He just kept going. 

"You missed your exit." Flicker stated. 

"Oh did I? I guess we'll just have to turn around somewhere. Hmmm… Here's a good road to turn on." 

Seyon left the highway, and the bus followed right behind them. They continued down the road until they came to a large building. High above it on a pole was a sign that said "_Danzclubin_." The bus followed Seyon as he parked in the parking lot. 

"Happy birthday Flicker! You're going to have the time of your life!" Seyon exclaimed. "Oh, and Corlea, do you want to come to?" 

"Sure! I love this place!" 

They flew into a parking spot and left the Steamer. Seyon showed a card to a man standing at the door, and then they were let in. Inside, they were greeted by a deep electronic beat. Seyon and Scarlet, who was still wearing her bikini and crown, walked side by side onto the dance floor. Flicker and Flame followed right behind them. At once, everything stopped, and everyone stared at Seyon. Then the disk jockey yelled from on top of a platform that was about a foot off the ground. 

"Hey! Seyon's back! Come on up here! Why don't you lay some beats on us like you used to?" 

"I'm sorry, but I'm here for a different purpose than that." 

Then, everybody in the room started cheering him on. Scarlet did her share as well by rubbing his shoulder and asking nicely. He quickly figured out that he had to accept.

"All right, DJ, do you still have my dub plates?"

"Of course! We would never get rid of them!"

Seyon then spoke to all of his dragon friends. 

"You're about to see something else that you can do with turntables. It's called scratching. Personally, I hold two records. I'm the only one to have scratched with seventy-eights, and I've accidentally broken more records in a single night than anyone else. Now let's rock! I mean, scratch!" 

At once, he leaped onto the stage. 

"Wow! Seyon's a _legend! _I can't believe that I get to see him in action!" Corlea commented to Flicker. 

"Really…"

Seyon took out two records from a cabined and put them both of them on a dual turntable setup. Then, a heavy beat poured out of the massive speakers. He started moving one of the records back and forth in very quick, yet refined, motions. It made a strange scraping sound, and occasionally, he would just let the record spin, allowing the music on it to play. After that, he would always spin the record backwards so that it would play just one part of the song over and over. It was always perfectly on the beat. After about two short minutes, he was done.

"Seyon, you've still got it!" The DJ shouted. 

"I'm sorry, but you only get one tonight. Oh, play something nice and slow for those two. Shine the light on them as well." Seyon jumped off the stage and rushed over to Flicker and Flame. 

"I believe it's ya'lls turn to shine." 

"What are you talking about?" Seyon made no sense to Flame, which was no big surprise by any means. Flicker chose not to pay attention. 

At that moment, the room went dark, lit up only by a spotlight that was shining on Flicker and Flame, and a nice, soothing song that none of them recognized began . The two walked out into the middle of the dance floor, and everyone else circled around them. Slowly and tenderly, the prince and princess danced. When they had finished, Seyon requested a song called "The Robots." 

Then, the DJ started the song, and the lighting in the room instantly changed. It had gone from a dark, yet romantic mood to solid blue. The entire room changed color with every beat. Blue, red, green, yellow, and violet, in that order, and then that sequence would repeat. To top it off, there were strange narrow shafts of light that pointed all over the ceiling. Seyon stood in the middle of the room with everyone's eyes on him. Then, he started to do the Robot, which he was apparently famous for, as all the Braiglanders cheered him on, stopping only when the song had ended. 

"Man, I was in the groove!" Seyon declared after he had reunited with the dragons. 

"You weren't in any sort of groove. You were standing right there in the open!" Scarlet joked. 

"I'm sorry, Seyon, but it's too loud in here, and it's too… colorful. May we leave?" Allfire could hardly bear another minute in the dance hall due to its wild nature. 

"Does anybody else want to leave?" 

All the dragons, except for Scarlet and Corlea, nodded. 

"… But I was in the _groove! _I guess techno is just too modern for you all. Oh well. To the vehicles! Corlea, do you still want to come with us?" 

"That would be wicked!" 

"Well, then, might as well announce the plans for the rest of the night… Anyway, we're going to Mayfield's Grill for dinner, since it's Flicker's birthday. It's a totally radical pad with all kinds of groovy food. Now it's pretty classy, but you can pretty much dress any way you want when I'm with you all. However, Scarlet needs to change out of that bikini, so she and I are heading back to my joint. The rest of you get to take the bus… again! Oh, and Flame, when the desk clerk, or whatever, asks you about a reservation, just tell him that I sent you. I have a special room all for me and my guests!" 

"Very well."

The group parted, and all the dragons on the bus were making their way to the restaurant, which was only a short distance away. It was a very exclusive eatery, built in a modern fashion. Bradford drove them into the extremely full parking lot and stopped right in front of the door.

"Here we are! I'm sorry, but I can't join you all. I have business to attend to." Bradford shouted from the driver's seat. 

All the dragons quickly got off the bus, except for Loungealot, who got stuck in the door. With the help of the other knights, he was freed. Flame entered the five-star restaurant first in order to talk to the clerk attending the front desk. 

When she entered, the interior reflected the exterior of the building. She walked over to the oak desk, where a tall man dressed in a tuxedo was standing, calling out reservations as tables became available. He spoke to her as she approached. 

"May I have your name, please?"

"Flame." 

"And how many are in your party?"

"Umm… eleven. No, wait… twelve." 

He looked through the book that was in front of him on the table. 

"I'm sorry, but we don't have a reservation under that name. If you don't have a reservation, then you won't be able to eat here tonight. We are booked until midnight." 

"Seyon told me to tell you to seat us in his personally dining room." 

"Yeah, right." 

"What? Seriously! He did!"

"He's in England right now, so that's not possible." 

Flame just sighed. 

"Fine. You just wait until he gets here."

"Tell you what. I'll call him, and I'll see what _he _says." 

"He's in the Steamer right now, so you should call that number." 

The clerk glared at her and picked up the phone next to him. He quickly dialed a number. He waited for an answer, and soon enough, Seyon answered. 

"Seyon? I didn't know that you were back in Braigland!"

"Well I'm glad that you're back. This is Mayfield's grill by the way, and we have a dragon by the name of Flame here. She says that you allowed her and the others with her to sit at your table. Is that true?" 

"I see… Goodbye." 

He slowly set the headset back onto its base with a stupid look on his face. He then picked up several menus from behind the desk. 

"...Right this way, ma'am." 

"It's milady. I'm a princess, not a commoner." Flame replied, intending to make him look even dumber. He returned the statement with an even stronger glare. 

All the dragons were led to Seyon's table. It was in its own room, and the table itself differed greatly from the other tables in the restaurant. It was made of fine, intricately decorated mahogany. There were sixteen chairs surrounding it, all of which matched the table. At the far end of the table was a chair that was far larger and more elegant that the others. It had red velvet cushions with gold thread woven throughout them in a very tightly knit pattern. Flame and Flicker sat close to it since they knew that it was Seyon's chair. On the right side of the table, the chair that was nearest to Seyon's chair was left vacant for Scarlet. Corlea sat next to Flicker.

"What would you all like to drink?" The waiter asked after all the dragons had been seated. 

Most of them chose one form of wine or another, except for Corlea, who was not old enough to drink. She ordered something called a "_calutza_." Blaze ordered a ginger ale and Flicker wished for nothing other than water. 

The waiter left, and he soon returned with a cart full of various wine bottles, and he poured drinks to them accordingly, and when he was done, he left. In the distance, Flicker noticed that Loungealot was having some sort of problem with his glass. 

"Hmm…" Loungealot said aloud. "My glass seems to be stuck to my hand!" 

He had already drunk all that was in the glass. He held his hand out completely flat, and sure enough, the glass was firmly stuck to his fingertips. There was a collective chortle. 

"This isn't funny! It won't come off!" 

He shook the empty glass violently, but it stayed put. At that moment, Seyon and Scarlet, who was now dressed in her usual dress, appeared in the doorway. 

"Ha ha!" Seyon laughed. "I'm sorry, but I just couldn't resist!" 

He held up a small tube that had the name "Super Glue" printed on the side. 

"Here. This will get it off." Seyon gave his victim a tube of "Super Glue Remover." 

He and Scarlet headed towards the end of the table. Seyon stared as his empty chair without even sitting in it. 

"These seating arrangements are not going to work." He spoke to Flicker deliberately. 

"What do you mean?"

"It's _your _birthday! _You _should be sitting in this chair!" 

He knew that it was best to go straight to surrender, so he simply got up from his chair and sat down in the most elegant chair at the table. Seyon wound up sitting in between Flame and Corlea, and Scarlet remained on the other side of the table. An overall awkward seating arrangement, but Seyon didn't seem to care, and neither did Scarlet. The group was silently staring at the menus, when Flicker finally spoke. 

"Seyon, this place is awfully expensive…" 

"I know! Isn't it great? Well, except for the expensive part…" 

"I would love to get the Porterhouse steak, but it's sixty dollars!"

"Well, that is a totally freaked up price, but if you want it, you can have it." Seyon immediately raised his voice in the small room.

"Listen, you all can get whatever you'd like. Don't worry about prices! I worry about prices, so you don't have to! Got it?" 

At that moment, Seyon noticed the strange drink that Corlea had been sipping for quite some time. 

"You're drinking a _calutza? _You must be a _real _Braiglander!"

"Well… sure…" 

Finally, a single waiter, a finely dressed dragon in an exquisite tuxedo, entered the room. 

"Are you all ready?" he began. 

"I'd say so." Seyon replied. "Just start over there." 

All the dragons placed their orders, most of them being steaks. Sir Burnevere requested haggis, which was amazingly on the menu. 

Seyon watched carefully to see what Loungealot was going to get. 

"I will have the… thirty-six ounce steak, cooked medium rare." 

"Why yes, of course." 

Seyon knew exactly what he wanted when the waiter came to him. 

"I'll also have the thirty-six ounce steak, cooked rare." 

Everyone in the room gasped. 

"My, aren't we hungry?" the waiter commented. 

Having taken Seyon's request, the waiter was finished and left the room.

"That thing must be huge!" Flame commented. "Are you sure that you can eat it all?"

"No, but I'm not going to let Lotsoflard, I mean, Loungealot, beat me! He shall fall in the great war of the steaks! Then again, I forgot to eat lunch…"

"Now how did you manage that?"

"Good question, but oh well. It will just aid me in my glorious battle against Loungealot!" 

Just then, Seyon deliberately picked up a spoon and threw it out the doorway.

"Oops! I accidentally hurled my fork out the door! Let me go… retrieve it…" 

"It was a spoon." Scarlet corrected. 

"…Quiet, you!"

He casually rose from his chair and strolled out the door. He came back holding a large and intricately decorated shield. It had a gold inlay that depicted a dragon, and surrounding it was a sheet of pure, gleaming silver. 

"Happy Birthday, Flicker!" 

He was stunned. It was the most gorgeous and elaborate shield that he had ever seen. 

"I figured that now that you're a prince, you need a fancy, show off…able shield." He said as he handed it over to Flicker. 

"Thank you… so much…" 

"Your welcome. Just don't be using it in battle now. It's more of an ornamental piece than anything else."

"Seyon, how did you get this made so fast?" Scarlet inquired. 

"It's a secret." 

"Oh. Well secrets are secretly meant to be secret, so you'd better be secret about it!" 

At that moment, several waiters entered the room, each one carrying a plate with numerous entrées on it. They set the plates in front of the corresponding customers. Seyon stared at his steak, which effectively covered the entire plate. 

"I hope you're hungry." Flame commented. 

"I'll have whatever you don't eat." Corlea stated, intending to make fun of him. 

"Well, you won't be getting any. After all, I can't let Loungealot win! He shall suffer the bitter taste of pure, undiluted defeat!" 

Then, the room fell silent, and the feast began. Seyon eyed Loungealot every once in a while, just to see how much he had finished. Loungealot did the same to Seyon. The obese dragon was beating him for the most part, until he miraculously had enough. He had eaten three-quarters of the massive slab of meat. Seyon by this time had only eaten half of his. However, he kept going, and soon, he approached the three-quarters mark. He was now the only one still eating at the table. Finally, after he fought and struggled, he finished the last bite. 

"Ha! I win!" Seyon said very lazily. 

"Was that enough?" Scarlet asked jokingly. 

"I don't think that I'll ever need to eat again…." 

Then, one of the waiters entered with the most horrible part of the dinner. The bill. He graciously handed it over to Seyon, who carefully opened it, and immediately closed it. 

"Is it expensive?" Flame asked. 

"Well… It's four digits. That's all I'll say. You all enjoyed it though. That's all that matters. Flicker, was this a good birthday?"

"Absolutely! This meal was fantastic, the shield is fantastic, and I got to dance with Flame. And she won second place in a beauty contest. This is the best day ever!" 

"Glad to hear it. Shall we head back? It's getting late. Then again, getting home will suck. I think I'm going to explode a couple miles down the road…" 

Nevertheless, Seyon paid the bill, and the group left the restaurant. 

"Seyon, that was marvelous!" Allfire commented as they walked out of the restaurant. 

"I'll tell you, my stomach _and _my wallet hurt. That's amazing! At least I out ate Loungealot." Then he shouted to Loungealot across the way, "Did you hear that? I _beat _you!" 

"Well… I had a huge lunch." He quickly stated. 

"Yeah, sure…" 

Flicker, Flame, Corlea, Scarlet, and Seyon, who was struggling just to stand up, entered the steamer. The rest of the dragons boarded the bus. 

"Ugh… So full…" Seyon grunted as he started the steamer and put it into first gear. 

Within minutes, both parties were on the way to Seyon's manor. In the steamer, about halfway through the trip, a bell suddenly rang continuously. 

"Flame, pick up the phone that's under your seat and talk to them. I'm too full to try to talk to them myself." Seyon stated. 

Flame answered the phone and carefully spoke into the mouthpiece. 

"…Hello?"

"May I speak to Seyon?" The crackly voice answered over the enormous amount of static and whine. 

"Seyon, they want to speak to you." Flame said, covering the mouthpiece with her hand. 

"Too bad. Tell them that you're my secretary, and ask them if they want to leave a message." 

Flame once again spoke into the phone. 

"I am Seyon's… secretary. Would you like to leave a message?"

"Just tell Seyon that we're done here in Camelhot. We're expecting him tomorrow. Goodbye." 

"Goodbye." Flame put the handset back onto its base. 

"Seyon, those workers back in Camelhot are done. They want you to come back tomorrow." 

"Hot _dog!_" He shouted as he slapped the steering wheel. "That's _got _to be a record of some sort. Well, I guess we're leaving bright and early tomorrow. Um… Corlea, do you want to come live with us in Camelhot?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't go with you. This is my home, but can I spend the night at your place? I really have nowhere else to go."

"Very well. You can either sleep on the floor in my room, or you can squeeze in bed with Scarlet and me." 

"I think that I'll sleep with you two. I have a bad back." 

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that." 

After a short ride, they arrived at the magnificent manor. The bus had already arrived, and was lying empty in the driveway. Before Seyon could get out, Flicker noticed something unusual. 

"Seyon, there's a rattle coming from under the hood. We should take a look at it."

"Totally! Flame, Scarlet, Corlea, why don't you three go inside? Or, both of you can stay and marvel at my glorious engine!" 

"I think Scarlet, Corlea, and I will go inside." Flame quickly responded. 

"Suit yourself. Flicker, let's go take a look-see!" 

"Don't go blowing yourself up, you hear? That would be freaked up!" Scarlet commented as she climbed out of the steamer. 

"I'll try not to…" 

Soon, Flame, Scarlet, and Corlea were out of sight. Seyon and Flicker walked in front of the Steamer, where Seyon opened the hood. A light revealed a gorgeously laid out engine compartment, if there was such a thing. There was not a spot of oil or grease to be found. The engine sat sideways, and its carbon fiber covered cylinders and valve chests were exposed for all to see. Bolted to the back of it was a massive transmission, designed specifically to handle the steam engines immense power and torque. Flicker's mechanical mind quickly got the best of him. 

"Is that the boiler?" he asked. 

"No. That is the condenser. The boiler is in the back." 

"What's this?"

"That is the air conditioning unit. It conditions the air! Now what did this rattle sound like?" Seyon inquired as he peered all over the engine compartment. 

"…Actually, I lied. There was no rattle."

"No rattle? What's up with that?"

"I know what I want for my birthday, and I needed an excuse to get Flame and Scarlet away." 

"Very well. What is it that you oh so desperately need?" 

Flicker whispered his desire into Seyon's ear, and Seyon's eyes opened wide. 

"Really!? You know, that is something that _you _should buy." He said aloud.

"I would buy it myself, but I don't have that kind of money…"

"Very well. Let's go inside real quick-like. I'll tell them that I fixed the rattle, and then I'll simply say that we need to test-drive it. And don't worry, I know just the place to go."

Just then, the hood fell shut on Seyon's hand, and a large string of curse words ensued. Once the furious rampage was over, the two entered the manor in order to explain what was going to happen. Everyone was in the parlor, listening to some more of Bradford's stories. 

"Well," Seyon announced out loud as he clutched his hand, "I think a fixed a rattle in the Steamer. Flicker and I are going to take it for a drive to see if it's been fixed. I'm sure it has been, since my geniusness in most insane! I'm putting Scarlet in charge until I get back. Oh, and the renovations back in Camelhot have been finished. We're leaving tomorrow morning."

"Why are you putting her in charge? Why not Allfire and me?!" Griddle shouted with a huge mean streak.

"This is _my _country, and moreover, this is _my _house! Therefore, she is in charge. If you don't like it, well then, that sucks for you!" 

Griddle was still furious, but Seyon and Flicker walked out the door without saying anything else. Within minutes, they were gone.

"So, what should we do?" A still enraged Griddle asked Scarlet, almost expecting her to not respond.

"I've got it covered!" She darted into the kitchen, and within mere seconds, she was back with two glasses and a large jug. She quickly set one of the glasses in front of Flame.

"I challenge you!" 

"To what?" 

"A drinking contest!" 

"I'm sorry, but I don't really drink." 

"Don't kid me! I heard about that time you were drunk in Edinburrough!"

"That was only once!"

"Yeah, sure… Come on, are you afraid?"

"Daddy!" Flame pleaded. 

"If you don't want to drink dear, then don't. Trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be. And we're going to be in that noisy airplane tomorrow for a long time. That's the _last _place that you want to be when you have a hangover!"

"Ha! Why don't you have a drinking contest by yourself? That'll keep you entertained for a little while." 

"Maybe I will!" 

Scarlet opened the jug and took a slow gulp from it, and then quickly set it down. Flame noticed that she was just standing there, obviously not sure what to think about the drink. 

"Scarlet, was that a little… much?" 

"No! It's all thick… and sweet…" 

"Well, then… Why don't you take another drink?" 

"Fine."

Scarlet picked up the jug once again and took several more gulps again.

"There! I showed you!"

At once, she fell onto the floor. 

"Wow! And only after two drinks!" Flame commented, looking at the label. 

Then, Scarlet quickly got up on her feet.

"I fooled you! It takes a little more than that to knock me out!" 

"I would think so. It says right here, 'Maple syrup.'"

"Oh, well then, excuse me!" 

She picked up the jug and glass and strolled out of the room. She returned shortly having returned the thick and gooey "drink" to its rightful place. 

"Well… What should we do now?" Scarlet asked.

"I would go to bed, but I'm going to wait until Flicker gets here." Flame answered. 

"I'm going to hit the sack." Loungealot stated as he left the room. 

"Me too, sir!" Gallahot added. 

"Yeah, I'm going to Seyon and Scarlet's room." Corlea declared as she walked away. 

Within minutes, the room was practically vacant, with only Flame and Scarlet waiting for Seyon and Flicker's return. They sat silently on Seyon's luxurious sofa, just waiting. Finally, Flame decided to break the stillness.

"Scarlet, where do you think they've gone? It's been a while…"

"I don't know. I suppose that they might be lost, you know, knowing Seyon…" 

"I never thought about that! I hope that they're okay. Then again, Flicker is good with directions."

"Quite possibly. Just remember…" 

"Remember what?"

"Just remember!" 

"Scarlet, may I ask you something?"

"Sure. As long as it's not about my hair color, then go right ahead!" 

"I want to know about your past."

"That's a statement, not a question, but okay! I was born, grew up, and then here I am!"

"Obviously, but I want to know the details." 

"Fine. I grew up poor in a household of about ten brothers: me being the only daughter. As a teenager, guys would always ask me out, but I would turn them down. I knew that they were only after my beauty, so I would either turn them down, or disgust them with my craziness! When I met Seyon, I knew that he was the one for me. He simply greeted me, and showed no signs of wanting me just for my looks. Flicker, on the other hand, could hardly breathe! So naturally, I kissed him on the cheek."

"So you never really wanted him?"

"Nope. I know that you got kind of angry over that issue, and that was most uncool! But oh well. Everything worked out in the end." 

"Well, Scarlet, I'm glad that I'm getting to know you better!"

"Me too! You know, I would _love_ to get to know you better…" Scarlet inched her way closer to Flame, and gave her the same alluring look that she gave to Seyon so many times. 

"Scarlet, are you all right!?" Flame stated with a hint of shock. 

"Of course I'm all right! …So what will it be? My room or yours?" 

Flame knew that this was her chance to call Scarlet's bluff, so she answered. 

"My room." 

"All right! Let's go!" 

Flame got up and darted to her room, and Scarlet trailed behind, arriving nearly a full minute later. She found Flame sitting on the bed. 

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Don't tell me that you don't know!"

Scarlet jumped on top of her, as she so frequently did to Seyon, leaving Flame on her back. 

"Scarlet, are you sure that you're okay?"

"Of course I am! See? Watch!" 

Scarlet simply kissed Flame on the lips with a certain passion that left the princess in a state of complete and utter shock. When she stopped, Flame glanced out the door and saw Flicker standing there. 

"Flicker! I swear, this is not what it looks like!" 

Flicker simply stood there, completely unsure of the entire situation. 

"Ha! And you probably thought that I was joking!" Scarlet boasted to Flame. 

She quickly got up on her feet and walked up to Flicker, who was still standing motionless in the elaborate doorway. 

"All right, Flicker. She's all yours." 

"What are you talking about?" Seyon asked as he entered the room.

"Oh, I was kissing Flame, and we were having a good time until _Flicker _showed up."

"We were _not _having fun." Flame corrected.

"Well, I was." 

"Come on, Scarlet, let's leave these two alone. Besides, we've got to get up bright and early tomorrow."

Much to Scarlet's delight, Seyon swept her off her feet and carried her to their room. Meanwhile, Flicker and Flame changed into their nightclothes and climbed into bed. 

"Flame, I'm curious. What exactly happened between you and Scarlet?"

"She implied the she wanted to kiss me, but I thought that she was bluffing. I invited her here, and she apparently knew that I was testing her, so she kissed me anyway."

"I see…" 

Flicker then put his arm around his one true love, and she was surprised at that, as that was the only time that he willingly did so. At that moment, she turned off the lamp that gave the only light in the room.

"By the way, where did you and Seyon go? You two were gone for a while…" The princess lazily inquired. 

"Yeh… Seyon got lost. You know how that goes." 

"Unfortunately, I do. So, is there anything that you want to do tonight?" Flame gave the prince a soft kiss. 

"Um… Well…" 

"Well?"

"Flame, I just… want to hold you." 

Flicker put his other arm around her. Her gentle breathing, coupled with the soft, yet soothing rhythm of her heartbeat completely relaxed him. 

"I'm going to sleep." Flicker finally declared. 

"Me too." 

At that same time, Seyon, Scarlet, and Corlea were still up. Scarlet was playing with Patsy, while Seyon was holding her. Corlea simply sat on her side of the bed, still dressed in the same attire that she wore to the beauty contest. 

"Seyon, do you mind if I sleep in my underwear? I really don't want to sleep with this dress on." 

"I understand. Just go into my bathroom over there and change." 

"Scarlet, as much fun as this is, we're going to have to go to bed. I'm going to be flying for fifteen straight hours, and I really don't want to be tired."

"Fine, wimp!" 

"I'm not a wimp!"

"But you sure are implying that you are!" 

"Fine. I am, if it means that I can get to sleep now." 

"It does." 

"Wait… We should probably wait for Corlea." 

"Good idea. Come to think of it, why did you ask if she wants to sleep with us? Why not on the couch, or in one of the guest houses?"

Seyon replied very quietly, "I don't trust her. She might be trying to pull something, and this way, I can keep an eye on her." 

"That would be gross. Taking your eye out and putting on her? That's just sick!" 

At that moment, Corlea walked out of the bathroom, no longer bearing her gorgeous, but horribly uncomfortable, dress. Her appearance, however, completely startled Scarlet. Corlea's brilliant green eyes were now a light shade of blue. 

"Corlea, what happened to your eyes? They're blue now! That's just freaked up!" 

Corlea explained fully as she climbed in under the blankets. "I was wearing contact lenses." 

"Contact lenses?" 

"Yes. They're a type of lens that you can put on your eyes so you don't have to wear glasses. The ones I was wearing were colored green." 

"Oh! But of course!" 

"Anyway, I have all kinds of different colors. Let's see…" She began to count them off on her fingers. "I have blue, green, brown, black, and a whole variety of funky ones. They are red, yellow, orange, white, gray, pink, silver, gold, and… I know I'm missing one… Ah, yes! How could I forget purple? Oh, and I have some that make my eyes look like cat eyes, and zombie eyes. Finally, I have a single pair that can make my eyes look like Ying Yangs! I also have a couple miscellaneous ones, too." 

Seyon was astounded. "Whoa! You have an _insane _amount of those things! Where do you keep them all?" 

"In a special case in my pocket. I always keep them with me!" 

"That's wicked! Anyway, we have a long day tomorrow, so it is bed time!" At once, Seyon turned off the light and soon fell asleep, as did Scarlet and Corlea shortly thereafter. 

The dragons awoke to the sound of Seyon shouting, "Let's get going! We don't want to be late to leave, now do we?" 

One by one, the dragons entered the parlor, having packed all their things. Loungealot came out with some much stuff that it took the help of Blaze to carry it all. Corlea was the last to come, having changed back into the same dress that she wore to the beauty pageant. She then spoke quietly to Seyon.

"Seyon, I thought about it, and I realized that I can go to Camelhot." 

"Great! We would love to have you over there!" 

"There is only one problem. I can afford to say only about a week. Can you get me back here then?"

"Sure. Now do you have any other clothing than just that dress?" 

"Nope, but I think I'll live." 

"Tell you what. I'll take you to Hallard's to get you some clothing, the other dragons will take the bus to the airport, and then we'll meet them there." 

"But… I don't have any money." 

"Don't worry. I'll take care of that." 

"Thanks! That's one of the things that makes you so great!" 

Seyon then announced the change of plans to the noisy crowd in his parlor. After that, everyone except for Seyon and Corlea boarded the bus. Flicker and Flame sat in the very back, and Scarlet, who was last to enter, sat next to Flame. Then, Bradford started the bus, and they were off. Scarlet was silent for a while, which was quite unlike her. 

"Scarlet," Flame finally asked, "You've been awfully quiet. Is there something wrong?"

"Flame, I'm worried." 

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm going to warn you, you'll see a side of me that you've never seen before."

"That's all right." 

"Well, you see, I grew up poor. Eventually, and I'm not sure how this happened, but my parents arranged a marriage between a noble and me. He was kind and intimate with me, but I _hated _him. He was arrogant, he liked nothing that I liked, and he was just plain awful. So, I refused to marry him." 

"Good for you." 

"After that, however, my parents became so angry with me that they disowned me. They put my out onto the street with nothing but the clothes on my back." 

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Flame put her arm around her, since she could tell that Scarlet was trying to hold back her tears. 

"So, I worked for Count Geoffrey since he offered food and a place to live. Of course, he wanted me to infiltrate Camelhot. Seyon was the first person that I met when I did. I told him that I've heard a lot about him, which was true, but Geoffrey was the one who told me everything. When Seyon greeted me, I instantly realized that Geoffrey was wrong. Seyon was _not _evil and stupid!"

"I see. So it was love at first sight?"

"Pretty much. I was so overjoyed when I learned that he loved me! Now, he is pretty much all I have. I'm so worried that he'll fall in love with Corlea and leave me!" She burst into tears instantly. 

"Listen, Scarlet," Flame started off softly. "Seyon loves you. He is not going to fall in love with someone else as long as that's true."

"You really think so?" 

"I know so. Why don't you talk to Seyon and see what he says?" 

"I think I will." Scarlet said, drying her watery eyes. 

"You know, you probably should show off Seyon to your parents."

"That's a good idea!" 

A few minutes later, the bus arrived at the airport. Bradford drove them right up to Seyon's plane, and when all the passengers got off the bus, Bradford drove away. He parked the bus and reunited with the group as soon as possible. Nearly half-an-hour later, Seyon and Corlea came. 

At first glance, Loungealot was stunned. She wore shorts, as was the custom in Braigland, and a cut-off t-shirt that left her stomach bare. On her feet was a pair of sandals. A pair of blue-shaded sunglasses covered her once again green eyes. 

"Would you like to sit next to me on the airplane?" He asked her. 

"Well, that might be kind of hard to do, but okay!"

Everyone except Bradford climbed into the aircraft, and Seyon, with Scarlet in the copilot's seat next to him, started all four engines. He eased the throttle forward and taxied the plane to the runway. He stopped, checked all the controls and instruments, and pushed the throttle nearly all the way forward. Seyon loved to gun the throttle, which was probably the cause of his frequent engine trouble. After speeding down the runway, the plane's wheels lifted off the ground. Seyon then gave the command to be put back eight hundred years in the past, and then the plane disappeared from modern Braigland. 


	7. The League Returns!

The League Returns!

Seyon had been flying in the SB-4 for several hours, noting that Scarlet had been silent for over eight hours, which was something that one would probably never see. Finally, disturbed by this strange behavior, Seyon spoke.

"Scarlet, is there something wrong? Being quiet and out of the way is just not like you!"

"Well, we need to talk."

"Okay, but we are already talking! What's up with that?"

"No, we need to _talk_."

"Oh, _that _kind of talk. Well, come with me. There's a special place we can go. It's called the nut box. Basically, it's a soundproof room where we people suffering from shell-shock can go to recuperate."

Upon that, Seyon pushed a button with the word "autopilot " and left the cockpit. Scarlet, though confused by the fact that no one was actually flying the plane, followed him. While walking through the center aisle, Seyon's heart pounded, as he was not sure what to expect. It was certainly a moment that he wasn't waiting for. Despite all of this, he was still fairly confident, as he had a trick up his sleeve, or rather in his pocket. After what seemed to be an eternity, the two made to the special room at back of the plane. He opened the thick, heavy door and beckoned Scarlet to enter. He followed and closed the door behind him. The two sat down, side by side, on a small bench across from the door.

"Seyon, I don't know how to say this, so I will just say it straight." She sighed. "I'm… worried that you are going to fall for Corlea and leave me."

"What? That's preposterous! Sweet! That's my big word for the day! Anyway, if it helps ease your mind at all, I'm hopelessly faithful. It would take an entire gaggle of elephants to pull me away from you!"

"Really? Or at least assuming that by gaggle you mean herd…"

"Of course! In fact, I was going to wait to give this to you, but I think that now is the perfect time."

Seyon pulled a long, thin, black container out his pocket and handed it to her. She carefully opened, and she became speechless. Laid inside the violet velvet interior was the most beautiful necklace that she had ever seen. It had a fine, intricate gold chain, which supported a huge ruby embellished by an exquisite gold facet.

"I… I… I don't know what to say… This is the nicest thing that anyone has ever given to me." She stated, all the while trying to keep her eyes dry.

She embraced Seyon, squeezing him so tightly that he could barely breathe. Finally, she released him from her death grip.

"Okay, now let's get back to the cockpit. Someone has to actually fly this plane!" Seyon gasped as he tried to catch his breath.

"Who's been flying this plane anyway?"

"The plane."

"I see… How does that work?"

"Well, it didn't until just recently."

"Right!"

Seyon marched down the aisle in his usual fashion, and Scarlet trotted right behind him, proudly bearing her new necklace. However, no one paid any attention whatsoever to her. Most of the passengers were somehow sleeping over the tremendous groan of the plane's four massive engines.

A long, boring, eight hours later, Seyon landed the bomber in a flat, grassy field close to Camelhot. Even upon the bumpy landing, no one in the aircraft woke up. Seyon threw open a latch and pushed the entire cockpit window open, and at once leaped out of the plane. A clearly audible thud soon ensued.

"Ouch! That was further down than I thought!" Seyon shouted.

Scarlet, rather alarmed, flew out through the open window and landed next to her love. She was greatly relieved to find him standing up, brushing off all the dirt and grass from his shorts.

"Shall we head inside?" Seyon asked, not intending to receive a response.

"I'll get everyone up and moving." Scarlet informed him.

"You do that."

Before Seyon could move at all, Cinder and Clinker appeared before him as though they materialized from thin air.

"Sup?"

"Count Geoffrey has taken over Camelhot!" Cinder happily stated.

"Excuse me?"

"Count Geoffrey has taken over Camelhot!" Cinder said just as he had before.

"Blast! How did you let this happen? What about my workers? What happened to them?"

"Count Geoffrey threw all of them into the dungeon!"

"All twenty-something of them?"

"Yep."

"Kastravin!" Seyon cursed in Braig, unaware that Corlea was standing right behind him.

"Seyon!" she exclaimed with a tone of utter surprise. "Don't you know that it's wrong to use such foul language?"

"What? Do you know how to speak Braig?"

"Devera! [Of course!]"

"Anyway, Count Geoffrey has somehow taken over Camelhot, even though I _specifically _told the workers to prevent that at all costs."

"That doesn't sound good. Not at all…"

"Exactly. The worst part is that _I _am beat, and _I _want to go to bed. Specifically in the bed that is in Camelhot! Man, Geoffrey is _so _going down!"

At that moment, Scarlet leaped out of the plane in her usual lively manner, having finally awoken everyone within the large aircraft. Seyon waited for Allfire to exit from the fuselage so that he could be made aware of the news. Finally, the dragon slowly made his way through the narrow door, obviously thankful to see the ground up close again.

"If I were only a few years younger…" he commented as he put one foot on the ground.

"Allfire! What's up?"

"Seyon, you're acting as though you wish to see me. Is there something that you need to tell me?"

"Oh, not much. Not much at all. It's just that Geoffrey has taken over Camelhot…" Seyon stated abruptly with a delightful tone.

"What!? This will not stand!" Allfire declared as he pulled Excaliburn from its scabbard. "Knights! ARISE!"

"Whoa, hold on there! I have a plan that requires practically no effort. Why don't you let me take care of it? I've got a few choice words for Geoffrey, such as _you, _and _are, _and… _stupid!_" 

"What about me? Can I come?" Corlea added.

"Sure. Why not?"

"Okay… Just be careful." Allfire said as he sat on one of the SB-4's tires.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine!"

"Do you have your sword?"

"Nah. Trust me, we will be successful, or my name isn't whatever my name is! All right Corlea, let us go!"

At once, Seyon and Corlea set out to end Geoffrey's reign over Camelhot, a seemingly daunting task. The two crusaders soon arrived at the famous crashing drawbridge. Seyon instructed Corlea to stand back, and he quickly pressed a button and darted away. In an instant, the drawbridge laid open at their feet.

"Quick! Run inside before it closes!" Seyon called out to Corlea as he was nearly halfway across the bridge. Upon the command, she trotted inside. As soon as she entered, the drawbridge slowly ascended instead of crashing against the side of the castle as it usually did.

"That's new." Seyon commented. "Now to the throne room we go!"

The two walked through several hallways, trying to avoid Count Geoffrey's evil knights. However, they were nowhere to be found. Finally, they approached a room, which Seyon entered without a moment's hesitation.

"This is my room. I need to get a couple things for my plan to function properly." Seyon said to Corlea as she cautiously entered the room. He rushed over to a closet, pulled out some clothes, and in a blink of an eye was dressed as a guard.

"Okay. _Now _to the throne room!"

In a short time, they were waiting outside the grand throne room where Seyon could finally discuss his plan to retake Camelhot.

"Okay Corlea. Just follow my lead."

At once, Seyon grabbed both of her arms and forced her in front of Count Geoffrey who was wallowing on King Allfire's magnificent throne.

"Who are you?" Geoffrey commanded.

"I am the prison guard, and I caught this girl sneaking around the castle. What should I do with her?" Seyon stated in an English accent.

Geoffrey immediately descended from the throne to inspect the prisoner.

"Really?" He inquired, intending to receive no answer. "And just who are you?" He asked the "prisoner."

"I am Corlea." She proudly replied.

"And just what brings you here?" He asked as he stroked her hair.

"I came to end your reign!" She declared.

"You know, I could use a queen… How would you like to be the queen of Camelhot?"

"I would much rather die." She snarled with a fierceness that startled Seyon and Geoffrey. 

"So be it. Guard, take her to the torture room and show her what happens to infiltrators!"

"Yes, your majesty." Seyon replied. He dragged her out of the throne room much to Count Geoffrey's delight.

"Corlea, you were great!" Seyon commented as they made their getaway.

"I was just playing the moment. Now not to sound stupid or anything, but what exactly did we accomplish?" 

"Check it out! While Geoffrey was busy caressing you, I swiped his keys! " Seyon pulled out a set of large keys out from his pocket and dangled them in front of her.

"I have no idea as to how he got hold of the keys to the dungeon, but who cares? I have them now!"

"Great!"

"Not to initiate part two of my plan! To the dungeon!"

At once, they had arrived in the bowels of the Castle. The dungeons consisted of only a single, damp cell that had a certain foul odor about it. Inside of the cell was a large group of workers, each one dressed with a hard-hat, a white shirt, and blue jeans. 

"Seyon! We knew you would come for us! Geoffrey imprisoned all of us in here." One of them called out.

"Now how did he throw all of you in here?" 

"Don't ask…"

"Very well. Let us all then rid this castle of his most vile presence!" Seyon snapped.

"Now to figure out which key opens this cell…" He fiddled around with the lock, trying several keys before coming to one that finally opened the lock.

The group charged up the stairs, and through the various corridors that led to the throne room. They dashed in, and much to their surprise, the throne was vacant. Suddenly, a voice echoed from behind them.

"Leave this castle, or Seyon will perish!"

The entire mob was shocked to see Geoffrey holding a sword against Seyon's throat.

"Dude, this is most uncool!" Seyon stated.

"Quiet you! Now I will let Seyon go under two conditions. First, I want you all out of my Castle. Second, I want Corlea."

"Oh, that is just _bogus _man!" Seyon declared.

"Be quiet!" Geoffrey snapped, threatening him with the sword.

Corlea, apparently seeing no way out of this sticky situation, slowly stepped forward, as she was willing to sacrifice herself in order to save Seyon.

"Okay Geoffrey. You win. I am yours. All of the workers will leave as soon as Seyon is released."

"Excellent!"

Geoffrey immediately sheathed his sword and seized Corlea, who was obviously very uncomfortable.

"Ha ha! I am so devious that even I scare myself sometimes! Now be gone you all!"

"Corlea… Thanks." Seyon said quietly, and she returned the gratitude with a sly smile.

"All right boys. Let's get out of here."

The entire group left Camelhot and was soon across the drawbridge and clear of the castle. They found the dragons sitting under the wing of the airplane waiting for Seyon to return, hoping to hear good news.

"Ah, Seyon!" Allfire started. "Is the castle ours once more?"

"No."

"What?"

"Geoffrey surprised us at the last minute. We also lost Corlea."

"Is she… dead?"

"No. Geoffrey just took her in exchange for my freedom. I shutter to think of what he's doing to her…"

"I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything we can do to help? Besides, it _is _our castle, and we would really like it back."

"Hang on. There must be something we can do…"

A sense of dread fell across the entire party, as it seemed that nearly all was lost. Count Geoffrey had finally won. Just then, Corlea landed next to Seyon, much to everyone's surprise.

"Corlea! How did you escape?"

"I didn't. I just beat up Count Geoffrey, and then I tossed him out a window and into the moat. Then, I walked out, and flew here. Oh, it's safe to go back to the castle now."

"You beat him up?"

"Yep. It was surprisingly easy…"

"Now that that's taken care of, let us… well… enter the castle! With our stuff!"

After having retrieved their things, the entire party easily and safely entered the castle. However, upon traveling through a grand hallway, they were stunned to see a very bruised, wet, and smelly Count Geoffrey, and his three evil knights, standing before them.

"Corlea!" Geoffrey snarled as the group stopped. "How dare you do this to me?"

"Did I do something wrong?" Corlea asked in a very polite manner.

"Don't play stupid! Evil knights numbers One, Two, and Three, seize her!"

The three evil, though rather pathetic, knights marched forward and Evil Knight number Three picked her up effortlessly.

"Hey! What have I ever done to you!?" The young dragon exclaimed.

Geoffrey drew his sword in an instant and pressed it against her throat.

"Now you will get what you deserve!"

"Okay!"

Corlea let out a short, fiery puff that singed Geoffrey's face, and he immediately dropped his sword.

"Now you've had it!" Geoffrey snarled as he rubbed his face. 

"Hold on!" Seyon blurted out. "There's like," as he began to count all the residents of Camelhot, "a lot of us, and only four of them. Let's get 'em!"

At that moment, all of them charged at Geoffrey and his knights, who were overwhelmed and thus instantly defeated. Hotbreath, Burnevere, and Galahot where quite pleased, having literally thrown Geoffrey and his evil knights out of the castle.

Corlea stumbled back to her feet even though Seyon helped her up, since Evil Knight number Three had dropped her, and then she had been trampled by the mob that mauled Geoffrey and his evil knights. When she finally got back up, Flicker, Flame, and Scarlet were also standing there.

"That… hurt…" she coughed.

"Are you all right?" Scarlet asked politely, knowing that Corlea had been through quite a bit in the past hour.

"I think so…"

After Seyon, whom Corlea had been relying upon to brace herself, released her, she immediately fell to the ground.

"I can't stand up…"

"Do you think that something's broken?"

"No. I'm not feeling that sort of sharp pain."

"Hang on just a minute. Flicker, why don't you stay in Flame's room tonight? That way, poor Corlea can have a bed all to herself in our room."

Flicker and Flame happily agreed, and the two were off, hand-in-hand, down the hallway.

At once, Seyon cautiously picked up Corlea and carried her to her room, while Scarlet strolled beside them. Upon entering the room, Seyon laid the injured dragon on Flicker's bed, making sure that she was as comfortable as possible. In the meantime, Scarlet settled in her bed, ready for the night.

"Is that better?" Seyon asked as he tucked in Corlea.

"Yep. Thanks for doing this for me."

"It's no problem. After all, you are the reason that we got Camelhot back."

She smiled, and then closed her eyes. Seyon then turned off the light, which was miraculously still working, and then climbed in bed next to Scarlet, still in his clothes.

"Say, did we bring in Patsy?" Scarlet suddenly inquired.

"Matera dek veltur!" Seyon blurted out.

"No cursing over there!" Corlea responded, sounding half-asleep.

"For _your _information, I wasn't cursing. I simply said, 'Mother of pearl!'"

"Close enough."

Seyon then put on his sandals and darted out of the castle, hoping that he could catch the plane before the workers had taken off, making their way back to Braigland. Fortunately, the plane was still sitting there, since the workers had yet to complete the pre-flight, which was especially important in the SB-4. Soon, Seyon had carried the now infuriated cat into his room, where Scarlet had finished setting up Patsy's food, water, and litter box.

"_Now _it's bed time!" Seyon proudly exclaimed.

He immediately turned off the light and then leaped onto the bed, nearly knocking Scarlet onto the floor. Soon, all was silent.

They awoke in the morning due to a loud knock on the door.

"What is it?" Seyon shouted with his face buried in his pillow.

The door then flew open, hitting the doorstop with a loud bang. Suddenly, Cinder and Clinker appeared next to Seyon, who was still lying face down.

"Good morning, Seyon!" Cinder exclaimed.

"What's up?"

"We have a message for you." Clinker dully stated.

Seyon slowly rose and took the message from Clinker.

Just then, the two-headed dragon disappeared.

"What is it?" Scarlet asked.

"It's a message for the league."

"Really…"

"Flicker!" Seyon shouted.

"He stayed with Flame last night, remember?" Corlea replied from Flicker's bed.

"Oh, right. I'm off then!"

Seyon leaped out of bed and then darted out of the room. He soon arrived at the heavy, wooden door that led to Flame's room. He proceeded to knock, but then thought otherwise. Instead, he pounded on the door, scaring Flame and Flicker half to death.

"What is it?" Flame asked angrily.

"Meeting in my room in half-an-hour you two!" Seyon shouted through the door.

"Okay!" She replied.

Soon, Flicker, Flame, Seyon, Scarlet, and Corlea were gathered around Seyon's rickety round table, about to discuss the possibility of a new mission for the league.

"All right." Seyon started, "Scarlet, Colrea, since you two aren't actually members of the league, just ignore this. Now I know that we haven't done anything with the league since that incident in Edinburrough, but I figured that we could start again. All agreed?"

"Aye," was the response.

"Fantastic! Now let's see what our hopefully not rat-infested task is this time."

Seyon read the note slowly and carefully, and then explained it in detail.

"Okay. This might be interesting. We have been asked to go Perth up in Scotland…" 

"We can't go to Perth!" Scarlet suddenly blurted out.

"Why not?"

"It's… um… nasty."

"How do you figure?"

"It smells funny."

"Well, it's really up to Sir Flicker and Sera Flame... Wait… isn't it Prince Flicker now?"

"You know, you can't just name Flicker a prince if he is not royalty." Flame stated.

"Why not? I figured that Edinburrough was my kingdom, so my rules, right? Therefore, I should be able to name anyone anything I want."

"I guess so…"

"Anyway, it's really up to you two as to whether we go or not. What do you both think?"

Flicker and Flame both responded in the affirmative.

"The motion carries. We are going to Perth! ASAP!"

"What about all the work done on this castle? That's why we left to Braigland in the first place, right?" Scarlet asked, apparently trying to find a way to prevent Seyon from going to Perth.

"You will have to wait until tonight. That's when we will have the grand unveiling!"

"Okay…"

"Flicker, Flame, your armor and swords are in the closet. Fortunately, I had the armor stripped of all Blaze's crazy paint. Now, Scarlet and Corlea, you two can come if you wish."

At that, the group departed to fetch their things, and soon all of them returned, ready for the long trip to Scotland. Flame and Flicker were wearing their carbon-fiber armor, their swords that Seyon had specially made for them at their sides. Seyon was carrying his suit of special armor, which he had chrome-plated, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "knight in shining armor." Scarlet and Corlea were bringing almost nothing, save for a few personal items.

"Seyon, what exactly are we going to be doing in Scotland?" Flame asked.

"It's something about a monster causing doom and stuff. That's all I know. Let's see… I would say that Perth is about one hundred and fifty miles from here, so I think that it would be about a three-hour tour. I mean trip! TRIP!"

Within several moments, the group had boarded the Beast, which was quite crowded with the five of them on it. They had plenty of water and fuel, and the boiler was up to pressure. Soon, they steamed across the drawbridge and out into the lush field surrounding the castle.

"Seyon," Flame started, "You know that we are going south, right?"

Seyon took a quick glance at the sun. "Well, the sun is over there, so we would be!"

"But Perth is north of us."

"Oh… right. Seeing as how it is in Scotland, it would be."

At once, and with a great deal of force, Seyon turned the Beast around and headed in the correct direction. It was a long, boring, and completely uneventful trip to Perth. Upon arriving, Seyon parked behind a blacksmith, and they all hopped off of the Beast. Seyon reached for Scarlet's hand, but she was too busy scoping out their surroundings to notice, so he actually had to grab her hand.

"Scarlet, is there something wrong? I can feel your hand shaking!"

"Oh no. Nothing… nothing is wrong…"

"Okay… If you say so…"

The group walked down one of the larger streets in the city, and all the while, Scarlet cautiously observed her surroundings. Quite suddenly, Scarlet hid behind Seyon.

"Seyon! There he is!" 

"Who?"

"My old boyfriend!"

"What?" He looked around, and then his heart skipped a beat.

"Maclaren!" Seyon whispered. "Flame, Flicker! It's Maclaren! Run!"

By then, it was too late. The former king had caught sight of them and was headed their way.

"Well, well, well. Who do we have here?" He asked with a sinister tone, directing most of his attention to Flame.

"Maclaren! I though you were dead!" She snapped back.

"Ha! It would take more than a pistol to stop me! Now which one of you shot me?" He inquired, though he received no response. Then, he spotted Scarlet hiding behind Seyon.

"Scarlet, sweetie!" He exclaimed as he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out in front.

"Maclaren, I told you before and I'll tell you again. I don't love you!"

"That again!"

"Seriously! I'm in love with Seyon, so get lost."

"What? You're in love with… _him_!?"

"Yes, and he is a hundred times the man you are!"

"That's it!" In one move, Maclaren picked up Scarlet by the neck, choking her.

"How dare you do such a thing to her!" Seyon blurted out.

Edinburrough's former king then set Scarlet down, and then slowly approached Seyon. He tried to use his size as intimidation, but it had no effect.

"How about this." Seyon suggested. "We will settle this in a duel at sunset. If you win, Scarlet will be yours."

Scarlet gasped in response, but Seyon continued.

"If I win, you will leave us alone forever, if you survive, that is. Is it a deal?"

"What kind of duel are you talking about?"

"No armor. Just our swords."

Maclaren felt that Seyon, who was much smaller and subsequently weaker than him, would be easy to beat. "You're on."

Maclaren then walked away, holding his chin up high. Seyon's proposition had left the group speechless. Finally, Scarlet spoke.

"Seyon, I can't believe that you would fight for my honor."

"You are well worth it, my dear. Now I hate to say it, but we have a suckish mission to take care of."

"Where are we supposed to go?" Flicker inquired.

"In _that _general direction!" Seyon pointed to a nearby bar.

At once, they entered the tavern through the open door and then approached the counter where a bartender was standing, cleaning a glass.

"How may I help you?" The bartender politely asked.

"Greetings." Seyon began. "I am Seyon, this is Prince Flicker, and this is Sera Flame. We are the league of knights."

"Fantastic! That man never pays for his drinks, he terrorizes my customers, and he tears up my bar! That's what I want you all to help me with."

"Let me guess… His name's Maclaren, right?"

"Why… yes."

"Don't worry. We will have it taken care of by tonight!"

"Excellent!"

"Flicker, Flame, you two go out and have a good time. Scarlet, Corlea, and I have some business to take care of."

"Are you sure you don't need me to help you train for the duel?" Flicker asked, as he was worried about Seyon's safety.

"Nah. I'll be fine. Have fun. Just meet us just before the brawl!"

"Okay."

Flicker and Flame left the bar, holding one another's hand, while Seyon, Scarlet, and Corlea stayed behind.

"Where should we go?" Flame asked.

"Why don't we take the Beast out into the countryside? It's a beautiful day, and I would love to spend it together. Just the two of us."

"Would Seyon mind us taking the Beast?"

"Not at all."

Soon the two were slowly steaming out into the lush countryside, trying to find a nice place in which to spend time together.

At about the same time, Seyon, Scarlet, and Corlea had just left the bar, having discussed their strategy for beating Maclaren.

"Seyon, I'm worried about you. What if something were to happen to you?" Scarlet spoke with a jittery tone in her voice.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise. In fact, I promise that I promise!"

Scarlet's mind was now more at ease, though she was still tense.

"Seyon, why don't you let me fight him instead?" Corlea suggested.

"What!? Not a chance! He'll flatten you!"

"No he won't. Trust me."

"Anyway, I said that I would fight him, not you. I must honor my word."

"Believe me. It will work. He will probably laugh at the idea of fighting me instead of you, so he will be more than happy to accept."

"No! I will not have it! It will more than likely be a fight to the death, and I don't want to sacrifice one of my good friends. "

"Please don't make me beg!"

"Why do you want to fight him so much?"

"I have my reasons. Please?"

"I'm not going to win this argument, am I?"

"Nope."

"Very well. You may fight in my stead. I guess we should start getting ready."

At that same time, Flicker and Flame had just found a gorgeous spot on the bank of a small stream. They stopped the Beast, got out, and then laid a blanket on the soft ground. The two lovers sat down and marveled at the beautiful scenery. Flicker sat next to his love, and slowly put his arm around her.

"Flicker, I'm worried about Seyon."

"Me too."

"What if he loses?"

"Don't say that. He will win!"

"Let's go back. I can't enjoy this moment with the knowledge that this might be Seyon's last day."

"It won't be. I know that he will be fine. Now if you really want to go, then let's go."

"Thank you, Flicker." She said as she hugged him.

They climbed back onto the Beast, having only spent a couple minutes on the riverbank. Within moments, they were on their way back to Perth. Within a mere half-hour they arrived. Flicker parked the Beast behind the same blacksmith, and they quickly reunited with Seyon, and Scarlet, who were in a nearby bakery sharing a loaf of bread. Corlea was nowhere to be found.

"Whoa, that was fast!" Seyon commented.

"We were too worried about you to have a good time." Flicker responded.

"Don't worry. I won't be fighting. Corlea will be fighting for me."

"What!? She will surly be killed!"

"That's what I thought, but she sounded pretty confident in herself when she said that she wanted to fight, so I figured that she would be fine."

"Where is she?"

"She's out getting my, er… her sword sharpened."

Just then, Corlea walked in through the door, carrying the carbon fiber sword that Seyon had made when the League first came into being.

"I thought that you were supposed to just replace the blade on that thing." Flicker pointed out.

"Yeah, but we don't have any replacement blades, so it had to sharpened." Seyon replied.

At that moment, Maclaren walked into the bakery, and all the people that were in his way fled. He stood in the middle of the room, scanning the interior, and then he spotted Seyon, whom he quickly approached.

"Seyon, are you ready to fight?"

"It's not sunset yet, duh!" Seyon indicated. "Besides. Corlea here will be fighting for me."

Maclaren laughed. Certainly the dragon had no chance against him. After all, she was younger and somewhat smaller than Seyon.

"Fine! I would love to fight her!" He stated as he directed his attention towards his opponent. "It's too bad that such a pretty face will be wasted." He said as he rubbed her chin.

"Teko errata per mortasi! [It is fortunate that you will perish!]"

"What?"

"You heard me!"

"Do you want to fight now, or do want to live for a few more hours?"

"Let's duke it out now! Come on, let's fight out in the street."

"Very well."

The dragons, Seyon, and Maclaren proceeded out through the door and into the middle of the street. All of the people in the streets and nearby buildings formed a large circle around the Corlea and Maclaren, since word of the impending battle had spread throughout the entire town. Seyon began giving the rules as Flicker, Flame, and Scarlet joined the crowd.

"Now there are very few rules in this fight to the death. First, no outside weapons. Both of you may only use your swords. Second, no outside help. Finally, well, there is no final rule. Now start when I give the signal. See, that was easy, wasn't it?"

Seyon backed up and joined Flicker, Flame, and Scarlet in the crowd. He pulled out a derringer from his pocket and fired a shot into the air. At once, the battle began.

Corlea and Maclaren's swords clashed for just a couple of seconds, and then Corlea's sword met Maclaren's much heavier and larger blade. She then swung towards herself, effortlessly ripping the blade from Maclaren's hands. It flew over her shoulder, and then it stuck in the ground several feet behind her.

"Ha! You are defeated!" The dragon proudly exclaimed.

"Very well." Maclaren stated, but instead of actually declaring defeat, he charged toward his sword. Corlea responded by hitting him on the side of his head with the broadside of her sword, knocking him to the ground. At that point, he finally knew that he had lost. Corlea approached the dazed opponent who was lying on his on the ground and jumped on top of him.

"Fine. You win. Now go ahead and finish me!"

"No." Corlea replied with a very sly, and almost shaky tone. "I'm going to let you go. That's right. Then, you will spend the rest of your life knowing that you lost a swordfight to a girl!"

Corlea walked off of the defeated man and headed toward Seyon, Scarlet, Flicker, and Flame.

"That was fast!" Seyon commented.

"Yep. It just proves how great I am!"

"Well, shall we head back?"

"Why not?"

Soon, the group was steadily steaming back to Camelhot. It was starting to get late, and the sun was getting lower and lower in the sky.

"Corlea, how did you defeat Maclaren so quickly?" Seyon asked as he kept his eyes on the road.

"Well, my sword…" 

"You mean _my _sword!"

"Right. Your sword has a blade that is made of Braigland's finest steel. Maclaren's sword is made of poor, medieval steel. I figured that if I could strike it on its edge hard enough, then I could put a good-sized nick in it, and then your sword's edge would easily slide into that nick and lock itself to his sword! Then, I could pull it away from him."

"Brilliant!"

The group traveled for a while longer. Flame had fallen asleep, with her head resting on Flicker's lap. Scarlet was watching the scenery was it whizzed by, and Corlea was busy reading the instruction manual that came with the Beast, since there was nothing else to read.

Suddenly, a very round, human-sized chicken who wore a tunic and a bow over his shoulder landed with a thud in front of the Beast. Seyon pulled the brake lever with all of his might, and the Beast's wheels locked. It turned sideways, and then just before coming to a stop, the side opposite of the Beast's path of travel came up off the ground a solid foot into the air, and then set itself back down with a loud bang. The chicken had escaped being run over by just a couple of inches. All of the passengers were now well alert, having nearly been thrown off of the carriage.

"Dude!" Seyon should at the chicken. "What was that about? We almost got exploded!"

"I am Robin Hood, and I have come to steal your wealth!" 

"So you are _the _Robin Hood? Well you don't have to steal anything from us. I'll make a donation. Here!"

Seyon pulled out a handful of gold coins from his pocket and handed him to Robin, who rapidly put them in his tunic.

"Now all of you, off that carriage! I'm taking it!"

"Hang on just a moment! What gives you the right to take our transportation?"

Robin pulled out his sword and pointed it at Seyon, who was not the least bit shaken. He pulled the derringer out of his pocket.

"I'm sorry, but you won't get very far!" Seyon stated, pointing the small pistol at Robin.

"What can that little, scrawny thing possibly do to me?"

"Watch this!" Seyon cocked the hammer and aimed it at a nearby rock. He pulled the trigger, and with a loud bang, the rock then shattered. Robin, in response to the threat, drew in closer and placed the tip of his sword against Seyon's neck. Seyon cocked the hammer once again.

"Seyon, that thing is only has two shots!" Corlea, recognizing that particular model of pistol, pointed out.

"I know! I've got one left."

Seyon proceeded to shoot the sword right out of Robin's hand. Such a practice was a classic procedure taught to all those in the Braigland Militia so that one could disable a victim without actually killing or hurting him. Seyon then pulled the trigger, but it just clicked.

"Darn it!" Seyon shouted.

"Remember, you fired one shot to signal the start of the fight." Corlea reminded him.

"That's right. Well, Robin, we _still _outnumber you."

Just then, three more chickens landed behind Robin, and he introduced them all.

"These are my Melancholy Men. This is Chicken-Little John, this is Deep-Fryer Tuck, and this is Chicken-al-a-Cain al-a-dale. Melancholy Men, attack!"

At once, all four of the chickens forcefully pulled out all five of the Beast's passengers, which they did with relative ease.

"There. You now have the Beast and everything on it. Now leave us alone." Seyon said with a strong fierceness in his voice.

"I'm not done yet!" Robin replied.

"What do we have left that you could possibly want?" Flame asked in a spiteful and vicious manner.

Robin replied with a slight, sly smile that sent chills down Flame's spine.

"Dude, this _royally _sucks!" Seyon said with such a force that he nearly spat out his words as he walked down the dirt road with the dragons following behind him.

"Tell me about it." Scarlet added.

"I can't believe that he took our clothes!" Flame snarled, wearing nothing other than her underwear.

"At least he left us with our underwear. He could have taken that too!" Corlea, the eternal optimist, stated.

"Yeah, but we are only about fifty f…. I mean fifty freaking miles from Camelhot! I would have someone sent here from Braigland to help us, but that… you know what… took my radio! Plus, it's getting cold! This is most suckish!" Seyon said through his clenched teeth.

"You know, Flame, this is, like, the second time that the two of us have been in this predicament." Seyon pointed out.

"Don't remind me."

"You know, I'm the president of the Robin Hood fan club, and that was nothing like the Robin Hood I know and love. What happened to him?" Flicker complained.

"I don't know." Flame replied, walking closer to Flicker, as she hoped that his presence would make her feel better.

"Flame, do you know if there is another town somewhere down the road?" Seyon asked her, as she was far more knowledgeable about the area than he was.

"I'm not sure…"

"You're no help."

They continued down the road for about an hour, having traveled only a couple of miles. By now, it was dark, very cold, and there was a chilly, piercing wind that added to their misery.

"Oh, snap!" A shivering Seyon exclaimed.

"What is it?" Scarlet, who was clutching Seyon in a vain attempt to shield herself from the gusts, asked.

"I see some lights!"

Within several moments, the group had arrived in the small town of Manchester. They soon stumbled across the only inn in the town, and without a moment's hesitation, they entered it. It was only slightly warmer on the inside, but it provided shelter, and was thus much more pleasant. An elderly woman, who was somewhat shocked to see the group wearing only underwear, greeted them.

"What can I do for you?" She asked with a heavy, cockney accent.

"Do you have any rooms left?" Seyon asked.

"Only one. It's a bit small, but that makes it nice and cozy. It will cost you five schillings for the night."

Seyon proceeded to reach into his pocket for some money, only to be reminded of the absence of his much-beloved pants.

"We don't have any money." Seyon stated.

"I'm sorry, but you can't stay here then."

"Think!" Seyon commanded. "What do we have that is worth anything?"

The group was silent; lost deep in thought. However, short of selling their underwear, they seemed to have nothing that was worth the five schillings. Finally, Corlea stepped forward. She reached deep into her own mouth and pulled out a fake molar that was made of solid gold. She slammed it on the desk in front of the innkeeper.

"Will that cover it?"

The lady picked it up and then carefully examined it.

"It sure will!" She concluded

She led them to a small room on the second floor. It had a single, heavily blanketed bed in the middle that could at most sleep two people, and the floor around the bed creaked violently. The only window was old and wavy, and there were cobwebs lining the ceiling. The roof and walls, however, seemed to be quite sound.

"Sleep tight! Don't let the bedbugs bite!" The innkeeper chanted. "Seriously. We've been having problems with the little buggers." She then walked down the squeaky stairs and left the guests to their room.

"Well, this is quite suckish." Seyon began. "But it will have to do. Flicker, Flame, you two can sleep on the bed. Scarlet, Corlea, and I will sleep on the floor. Just give us some blankets."

Flicker and Flame could afford to spare only one blanket, so Seyon, Corlea, and Scarlet had no choice but to share the blanket, which barely covered the three of them. Flicker and Flame tucked themselves in the less than comfortable bed. Finally, they all fell asleep.

They awoke to the sound of the innkeeper knocking at the door. Her coarse voice sounded clearly.

"It's time to get up!"

Seyon and the dragons simply got up and walked out through the door, as they had no reason to get ready. Upon leaving the inn, they sought a faster mode of transportation to Camelhot. Fortunately, they came across a horse-drawn carriage destined for a long journey south.

"Sir!" Seyon shouted to the gruff man sitting on the carriage. "Would you mind taking us to Camelhot?"

"What will I get in return?"

"We will make it well worth your while when we arrive there. We have no money with us."

"Very well."

Soon, the group was bouncing down the road to Camelhot, and they arrived late in the afternoon.

"Now where's my payment?" The carriage driver demanded.

"Scarlet, you know where I keep my money, right?"

"Yes."

"Be a doll and bring five pounds out here, would you?"

"Sure!" 

Scarlet flew away, entering Seyon's room through an open window. She quickly returned, carrying five one-pound coins, which she gave to the carriage driver. He quickly rode away after accepting the payment.

They all proceeded to cross the drawbridge. Seyon pushed the button that would so famously drop the drawbridge in front of them, but this time, nothing happened.

"Seyon, I think that the drawbridge is gone." Scarlet pointed out.

Sure enough, it was indeed missing. The dragons easily flew into the castle, but Scarlet had to carry Seyon across the moat, which she did with great effort.

"I'm going to see Allfire ASAP. Who wants to come with me?"

Flame was the only one who agreed to go with him. The others proceeded to change into their normal clothes. Flame and Seyon traveled through the numerous hallways. All around, they noticed various items missing, such as furniture, rugs, and paintings. Finally, Seyon and Flame entered the grand throne room, and Allfire, who was also wearing only his underwear as well, greeted them.

"He got both of you too?" That was all he said.

"Who?" Seyon asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Robin Hood. He has taken almost everything! Even the drawbridge!"

"Yeah, I noticed."

"Now for the bad news." Allfire went on.

"I thought that was the bad news."

"This is worse. He said that he will return everything that he has taken if we beat him in an archery contest that will be held tomorrow." 

"That doesn't sound so bad. What happens if we lose?"

"He gets… Flame's hand in marriage."

Flame gasped. If what Flicker had told her were true, then Robin Hood would be nearly unbeatable at the game of archery. She immediately burst into tears, as it seemed that instead of marrying Flicker, her knight in shining armor, she would be the wife of a chicken. Seyon hugged her, hoping to console her.

"It's all right, Flame. He will not marry you, and that's final! Believe me, they don't call me Hot-Shot Seyon for nothing! Come with me."

Seyon led her to his room, which was perhaps the only room in the castle that Robin Hood had not ransacked, as there was so much junk spread out all over the floor that it would be nearly impossible to sort through it all. Flame sat down on the bed, trying to keep her eyes dry. Seyon walked over to the closet and pulled out a bizarre looking bow which had a large, round lump just below the grip.

"Check this out! This is my secret weapon!"

"What's so secret about it?" She sobbed.

"Why don't you try it out?"

She slowly and carefully took the bow out of his hand. It was fairly small and lightweight, but it had a heavy draw weight.

"I still don't see what makes this bow so special."

"Try to draw it."

Fortunately, Flicker had on several occasions taught her the standard procedure for using a bow. She stood up, composed herself, and then with great effort, she pulled the string back to her cheek.

"Try to keep the sight pointing at something." Seyon ordered.

Flame was unable to keep the sight steady, as she was shaking violently from trying to hold the string back.

"All right. Now let the string down."

She did not release the string, as Flicker had told her that doing so could damage the bow, so she slowly put the string back to rest.

"How can you win with this? I can't even keep it steady!" She said, still sobbing.

"Watch and learn." Seyon flicked a tiny switch that was sticking out of the odd-shaped lump.

"Now try it!"

Once again, she drew the bow, though with a little less difficulty than before. This time, the bow almost seemed to resist every movement that she made as she drew it.

"Now try aiming at something!"

Even though she was still shaking quite a bit, the bow pointed straight as the wall, not deviating even the slightest bit from where she was aiming. At once, she let down the string.

"Seyon, this is amazing!"

"Isn't it? This bow features a movement-inhibiting device that counteracts every not… um… good movement that you make. That way, you can easily keep the sight on target."

"Do you think that you can beat him with this?"

"I know I can! Now if I wind up losing somehow, I'll have someone secretly take you to Braigland where Robin can never find you until I get things settled here. As I said, he is not going to marry you!"

"Thank you so much." Flame said quietly as she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.

"Now put your dress on and go talk to Flicker. He has been awfully silent lately. Oh, and don't tell anyone about this bow. It will be our secret."

She handed the bow to Seyon and then left the room. She arrived at her room, which had also been ransacked, but for some odd reason, almost nothing had been taken. She found Flicker, dressed in his usual armor, sitting on her bed, waiting for her.

"Flame! There is something that I want to ask you."

"Hold on."

Flame visited her wardrobe and quickly put on one of her usual radiant dresses. She then sat down next to Flicker, still sniffling.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"It turns out that Robin has challenged Camelhot to an archery contest. If we win, then he will return everything that he has stolen."

"That's great!"

"But if we lose, he… gets to marry me."

"What!? No! Robin is the best archer in the land! It will be almost impossible for us to beat him!"

"Seyon says that he can do it. He also says that if he loses, he will have me secretly taken to Braigland so Robin can't find me. Now what is it that you wanted to ask me?"

"Oh, it's nothing…"

Flicker got up and left the room, since he was much too depressed to ask anything of his love. He entered his room, where he found Seyon waxing the string on his bow.

"Seyon, do you really think that you can beat him?"

"Of course! I'm going to sight in this here bow pretty soon. Would you like to help me?"

"Sure."

"You know, there is one thing that I don't get." Seyon declared as he continued to wax the string. 

"What is that?"

"I have no idea as to how Robin knew about Flame. I mean, she never told him who she was or anything! Also, how in the world did he find out about Camelhot? Anyway, I figured that it is best not to ask questions."

"You're probably right."

"It's still pretty messed up, though. Shall we head out?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Take this target and this box of arrows. I'll carry the bow."

Soon, the two were in the courtyard, ready to begin. Flicker had set up the target next to the far wall, so that Seyon could have plenty of room in which to sight in his bow.

"Let's rock!" Seyon grunted as he nocked an arrow. He effortlessly arched the bow, and carefully aimed. He released the arrow, and it stuck in at the far edge of the target, nearly missing it.

"Seyon! It almost missed! Are you sure that you can do this?" Flicker quickly blurted out.

"Hang on! We're not dead in the water yet!"

At once, Seyon fired another arrow, and it struck the target exactly where the first one had. He fired a third one, and again, it hit the same spot. Upon measuring how far the arrows had hit from the bull's eye, he adjusted the sight.

"So, what do you think, Flicker?"

"If you could just hit the bull's eye, then we might have a chance." He replied quite apathetically.

"Let's see."

Seyon fired all three of his arrows that he had retrieved from the target, and they all hit the dead center of the bull's eye. Three more arrows had the same result.

"Well, I would say that we are done here."

"Really?" Flame, who had apparently just arrived to see how Seyon's progress was going, said from behind him.

"Sure. I think that beating ol' Robin should be a piece of cake!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. It just goes to show how incredibly awesome I am!"

"May I see?"

"Very well."

"Flicker, take this apple." Seyon handed him an apple, which he had intended to eat.

"You're not going to shoot this off of my head!"

"Of course not! I wouldn't dare risk the life of one of my best friends! Just toss it up into the air when I say so."

Seyon nocked another arrow and gave the cue. Flicker threw the apple high into the air, and the arrow skewered it right through the middle. Flame was absolutely elated, as it seemed that Seyon had a fantastic chance of beating Robin.

"Say, have you any of you seen Scarlet and or Corlea? I'm not sure about Corlea, but Scarlet usually won't leave me alone!"

To Seyon's dismay, neither of them knew of their whereabouts. It was getting late, and Seyon knew that he had to find them before nightfall.

"Seyon, Flicker and I are going to my room. This might be my last night of being single, so I want to spend it with Flicker."

"Have fun! I'm going to ask the other knights about Scarlet and Corlea's missing status."

Seyon entered the castle, his bow over his shoulder. He stopped by Loungealot's room first, since it was the closest. He listened through the door, and he heard voices inside. He knocked with his usual knock.

"Loungealot! Loungealot! Loungealot! Loungealot!" Seyon shouted as he pounded on the door as hard as he could.

"What!?" Loungealot yelled as he opened the door.

Seyon darted inside right by the huge knight. He discovered that the room was lit only by two candles on a small table, with Corlea sitting behind it. On the table in front of her, and on the side opposite of her, were the remains of what was apparently a meal fit for a king.

"Corlea! I found you!"

"You sure did!" She got up and walked over to Loungealot.

"Well, I'd better be going. Thanks for the meal!" She hugged Loungealot who proceeded to kiss her, but she put her finger over his lips.

"Ah! Not on a first date!"

"Very well."

Corlea and Seyon left the room and started down the hallway.

"I can't believe that you went on a _date _with Loungealot!" Seyon exclaimed, since the entire scene disgusted him.

"Me neither."

"What do you mean?"

"I was really, _really _hungry, and Loungealot asked me out on the date. The first thing that came to my mind was 'free food!' So, I accepted."

"Corlea, that was wrong, immoral, and just plain messed up."

"I know..."

Then, he nudged her in the arm. "Ha ha! I like your style! Lotsoflard has taken advantage of Flicker so many times that he deserves to be taken advantage of at least once!"

"That's what I figured."

"Do you by any chance know where Scarlet went?"

"Not a clue."

"I'm going to see the other knights to see if she's with them. Would you like to come with me?"

"Sure!" She replied as they continued down the hallway.

"I hope you don't mind me asking some personal questions." Seyon asked.

"As long as it's not about my secret identity!" 

"So, where are you from?"

"I was born in Australia, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Well then, were are you from in Braigland?"

"Paradeaux."

"That's such a beautiful town. It has a weird name, but it's sure beautiful, being right on the water and all. Speaking of names, where did 'Corlea' come from?"

"I was named after the Corliss steam engine."

"Really? Who are your parents? You were adopted, right?"

"Right." She said nothing else.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Who are your parents?"

"I am not at liberty to say." At that moment, the two stopped, having arrived at the door that led to Blaze's room.

"Come on. Tell me!"

"You can't make me!"

"Very well." Seyon knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"Who is it?" Blazed asked with a musical tone in his voice.

"It is I! Seyon!"

"Coming!" The door quickly opened, revealing the tall dragon wearing his "fashionable" attire.

"What is it?"

"Sir Blaze, do you know where Scarlet is?"

"She's with me!"

"Doing what?"

Just then, Scarlet, still wearing only her underwear, appeared in the doorway.

"Hi, sweetie!"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm having Blaze make a new dress for me!"

"Cool! How is it going?"

"Pretty good!"

"Can I see?" 

"Nope!"

"Okay. Corlea and I are going to see Flicker and Flame, since we have nothing else to do."

"What about all the work done to this castle? When are you going to show that off?"

"I was going to do that tonight, but somehow Robin stole the huge engine that would run everything! That's messed up!"

"Totally!"

"Anyway, you two have fun! Corlea, let us go!" Corlea and Seyon were off in a flash. Soon, they had arrived at Flame's room. Seyon knocked on the door, and Flame soon opened it.

"Hi, Flame! Are you and Flicker having fun?"

"Of course! We were… playing checkers."

"I don't believe you, but okay. Would you and Flicker like to go to Weston-super-Mare for a nice dinner?"

"How would we get there? The Beast has been stolen, remember?"

"…Right. In that case, we'll let you two be. Wait, is Flicker spending the night with you again?"

"Probably."

"All right! Corlea, let us go once again!" Seyon and Corlea took off just as they had done before.

"So what should we do now?" Seyon asked, hoping that Corlea had some idea.

"Go to bed?"

"Sounds good to me!"

The two hurried to their room, climbed in their beds, and were soon asleep. Scarlet joined Seyon shortly thereafter, since her new dress had been finished. She put her arms around his stomach and pressed herself against his back. She was soon asleep. Patsy jumped onto the bed and laid on top of her.

At the same time, Flicker and Flame were just about ready to go to sleep. They were both lying on Flame's lush bed, with Flicker holding his love close.

"Flicker, this might be the last night that I get to spend with you." Flame stated in a very low voice.

"Ssshhh. Don't talk like that. Seyon will beat him. I just know it."

Their lips met for what could be their last kiss. Flame, however, stopped early, as she started to cry.

"I couldn't bear to lose you!" She wept.

"It will be all right. I'm sure that Seyon has some brilliant plan to stop Robin from marrying you if he loses."

"But what if he fails!?" She cried.

"He won't. He never fails."

Finally, Flame calmed down, wiping her tears away. Flicker held her closer, hoping to make her feel better.

"Are you sure?" She sniffled.

"Absolutely. Let's go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow!"

Flicker fell asleep rather quickly, and Flame eventually followed as she became more and more confident of Seyon's abilities, and thus became less and less nervous.

They awoke at dawn, along with everyone else who was still asleep in the castle at that hour, to the sound of an SB-4 landing in a nearby field. Flicker and Flame were soon ready to greet the day. Flame wore a lovely dress that she saved for just such an occasion. Flicker dressed in his usual attire. They made their way to the courtyard, which they found to be packed with spectators from all over the kingdom. Fortunately, it was a gorgeous day, not too warm and not too cold. There was a slight breeze, but it was not enough to cause problems to the archers.

"I'm going to sit over there." Flicker declared as he started to walk away from the princess.

"Why? Remember, you're a prince now! You can sit with me."

They entered the special booth reserved for royalty. Flicker and Flame made their way past Allfire and Griddle so they could get to the chairs reserved especially for them. Flicker glanced at Griddle, but she glared back at him, so he immediately looked away. Flicker and Flame then sat down in their luxurious chairs.

"I must admit, it feels weird to see the courtyard from here!" Flicker stated.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Flame replied as she held his hand.

Then, Robin appeared in the courtyard. He quickly made his presence known to Allfire and Griddle by standing in front of them.

"Robin. I'm so glad that you made it." Allfire said with a strong sense of disgust.

At once, Robin approached Flame.

"How is my bride-to-be?" He took her hand away from Flicker's and kissed it.

"I don't know who you are talking about." Flame simply stated with a snotty tone. "You certainly won't be marrying anyone today!"

Robin quickly walked away, trying to hide his anger.

Suddenly, a song played loud throughout the courtyard on several speakers that had apparently been hidden. It had a simple melody that consisted of a coarse-sounding electric guitar and a simple bass line. It was a song that Seyon had often referred to, "Iron Man."

At once, Seyon entered the courtyard through the main entrance, his bow over his shoulder and his quiver filled with arrows at his side. He waved to the numerous spectators as he walked by, and they cheered loudly in response. He soon arrived in front of Flame.

"How are you today, milady?" Seyon bowed in front of her, dumping all of his arrows on the ground.

"That depends on how well you do. Where are Scarlet and Corlea?"

"Scarlet is in one of the stands, somewhere…" Seyon scanned the crowded stands, and then he saw the redheaded dragon waving back. "There she is! Corlea is somewhere over there operating the sound system."

"Are you ready to go?" Allfire asked.

"Ready when you are!"

"Go show that chicken!" Griddle bellowed, as though she had become quite fond of Seyon overnight.

"I will!"

Seyon picked up all of his arrows and darted away. He stood next to Robin, who was already at the firing line.

"May the best man win!" Seyon exclaimed as he held out his hand toward Robin.

"Ha! Of course I will win! Do you really think that you have a chance against me?"

Seyon immediately withdrew his hand. "Fine! Be that way! I didn't want to shake your hand anyway! Jerk…"

Then, Allfire stood up and waited for the crowd to be silent. Corlea dashed out of her booth, ran across the courtyard, and handed Allfire a microphone.

"Here! Speak into this!" She was gone in a flash.

Allfire held it up in front of himself. He then attempted to get everyone's attention in a polite way.

"I'm happy that you all of you made it here!" The king's voice resounded clearly throughout the entire courtyard. The crowd hushed very quickly. At that point, he continued.

"We are ready to begin! The contest will consist of one round comprised of ten ends. On each end, a contestant will fire three arrows in a row. The contestants will alternate between ends. The person with the most points at the end of the round wins! In the event of a tie, a second round will be held. As for the rules, no cheating, no interfering, and no name-calling! Robin gets to go first. Let the games begin!"

Robin nocked an arrow, carefully aimed, and hit the bull's eye. There was a collective gasp among the audience. He fired two more arrows, and both hit the same spot.

"Let's see you do better, Seyon!"

"King Allfire!" Seyon complained. "Robin called me names!"

"What did he call you?"

"Seyon!"

"Okay. Let me revise the rule. One may only address another by his name. All others names will be considered name-calling. Does that satisfy you?"

"No, but I guess I'll live…"

Seyon quickly nocked an arrow and released it, and it hit the dead center of the target. His next two arrows did the same.

"Back to you, my friend!"

They went back and forth, neither of them having ever missed the bull's eye. Finally, the round was over. The score was a perfect three hundred to three hundred. Then, Cinder and Clinker moved the targets ten yards back, and round two started. Once again, the round ended with a score of three hundred to three hundred. Cinder and Clinker then moved the targets another ten yards further away, and then round three started. Once more, the score was dead even at the end. Finally, Seyon proposed to end the contest once and for all.

"All right, Robin. Let's we shoot one final arrow at… let's say… one thousands yards! Whoever gets closest to the bull's eye wins!"

Everyone gasped. Such a shot at such a distance had never before been attempted. Cinder and Clinker proceeded to move the targets to the incredible distance.

"I accept your challenge!" Robin proudly declared, as it was against his nature to refuse any sort of challenge.

Flicker noticed that his love was shaking violently. He put his arm around her, hoping to console her.

"I can't believe Seyon would attempt such a thing! I'm doomed!" She cried into his shoulder. Flicker patted her on the back.

"Don't worry. I'm sure that Seyon knows exactly what he's doing."

Cinder and Clinker returned, having moved the targets more than half-a-mile.

"You first, Robin!"

"Very well."

Robin nocked an arrow and fired it high into the air. It landed about thirty yards short of the target, and the entire audience booed.

"Ha! Soon, Flame will be mine!" The chicken boasted.

"Let's see…"

Seyon pulled out a strange-looking arrow from his quiver and carefully nocked it. He drew back the string with the arrow on it, but he let it down. He drew it once again, but again, he let it down. He drew it one final time, but he aimed the bow nearly perfectly level with the target. The arrow would certainly not travel very far unless Seyon aimed high into the air, just as Robin did.

"I can't watch!" Flame shrieked into Flicker's shoulder. He held her tightly, as his nerves could barely take the pressure.

Finally, Seyon released the arrow perfectly even with the target. However, shortly after it had been released, it made a sound that resembled that of an air leak from one of Flicker's inventions. It made a fine trail of smoke as it traveled through the air. Unfortunately, no one could see where it had landed. Seyon ordered Cinder and Clinker to examine the target, and they were off. Even so, it seemed definitive that Robin had won.

At once, Robin dashed over to Flame and tore her from Flicker's grip.

"Now you're mine! Kiss me!" Robin ordered as he picked her up.

"No!" Flame cried out as she tried to resist.

He was just about to press his lips against his trophy's lips when Cinder and Clinker arrived with the target. Sticking out of the fourth ring was the arrow.

"Seyon won." Clinker droned.

The crowd went wild. Everyone cheered and roared as loud as they could at Seyon's triumph.

"No!" Robin yelled. "I don't care, you're still going to marry me!" Robin asserted as he held Flame tightly. His Melancholy Men appeared out of thin air so that they could protect their leader from anyone who wished to stop him.

"Never!" Flame shrieked.

Then, Seyon stood in front of the chicken with a stranger standing next to him. The man was just a little bit bigger than Seyon, but he was by no means intimidating. He wore a black uniform that had a golden, six-point star over his heart.

"Robin, let me introduce you to my good friend, and the captain of my personal guard, John Little!"

"You are under arrest." John quietly proclaimed.

"Over my dead body!"

"Resisting arrest!? Your crime has been reported!"

John effortlessly pried Flame from Robin's grip and gently set her aside. Robin promptly drew his sword and pointed it at the guard. The captain, however, pulled the sword out of the hoodlum's hands, and with the hilt in one hand and the blade in the other, he snapped it in half.

"Are you ready to surrender?" The guard captain asked politely.

"I'm not done yet!"

"Very well." John punched him once in the jaw, knocking him out cold. Robin's Melancholy Men went down just as easily. They were then promptly taken to the dungeon.

"Seyon, how did you win?" Flicker asked, as Seyon had seemed to win by sheer magic.

"Don't tell me that you didn't think that I had a trick or two up my sleeve!" He pulled the strange arrow out of the target and handed it to Flicker.

"That is a prototype rocket-propelled, self-guided arrow. It hits what you point it at, at a distance of up to a mile! It's one-time use, so you can keep it!"

"That's incredible!"

Then, Flame threw her arms around her savior and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you so much!" She cried, her eyes filled with tears of joy.

Admiring fans soon surrounded Seyon.

"Seyon, you came through for us again!" Allfire patted him on the back.

Everyone complemented the instant hero in almost every way imaginable. Finally, Queen Griddle herself stepped down from the throne and made her way to Seyon. All of the people surrounding the victor made room for her to pass through. Then, she spoke Seyon directly, which was quite a rarity.

"Seyon, congratulations! As a reward for your victory, and for your service to this castle, you may have Princess Flame's hand in marriage." Everyone fell silent, as they were stunned by the offer. Griddle patiently waited for him to accept.

"Seyon, I would be honored to have you in the family." Allfire added.

Seyon looked at his possible bride and addressed her directly. He rested his hand on her shoulder. She was bewildered by the fact that she had been offered as a reward, so she said nothing.

"Flame, you are one-of-a-kind. You are beautiful, intelligent, honest, loving, caring, and sincere. Any man would be lucky to have you by his side. However, your heart belongs to someone else, and I can't take you away from him. Not to mention that my heart belongs to someone else as well…"

Griddle stood there smiling, but it soon set in that Seyon had refused her offer. Then, she quickly became infuriated. She stormed off, cursing Seyon under her breath.

"Seyon, thank you…" Flame said quietly as she hugged Seyon once again, as she was deeply moved by his speech.

"I'm taking a well-deserved nap because I am sick of all this attention! And I'm tired!"

Seyon forced his way through the mob surrounding him. Finally, he found Scarlet, who had not been able to get through the solid wall of admirers. Her new dress seemed to somehow coplement her eyes and hair color at the same time.

Without saying anything, Seyon kissed her, much to her surprise. The crowd around him cheered and whistled. He then picked her up and carried her into the castle, where he set her back down on her feet.

"Seyon???" She was completely speechless.

"Ssshhh. Meet me in our room." He dashed away, and she tried to follow him, but he was long gone. After what seemed like an eternity, she arrived. Her love was sitting on their bed, waiting for her.

"Scarlet, sit next to me."

She did so, and for perhaps the first time in all of the time that they have been together, she was nervous. Seyon immediately put his arm around her.

"Scarlet, Griddle gave me the option to marry Flame as a reward for defeating Robin."

"Did you… accept?"

"Of course not! I love her, but I'm not _in _love with her! However, it made me realize just how much I am in love with you." He told her in a soft and sweet voice.

"Really?"

"Really." Seyon whispered. Then, he pressed his lips against hers, delighting her to no end. They then fell over onto the bed, embracing each other.

"Scarlet, when I first saw you, there was something about you… I knew that you were the one…"

"I felt the same way…"

They were about to kiss once again, but a knock on the door interrupted them.

"I'll get it." Seyon said softly as he ran his fingers through Scarlet's scraggly, rough hair.

When opened the door, he was surprised to find Allfire standing on the other side of the door.

"Seyon! I just wanted to tell you that we are holding a feast tonight in your honor. The dinner bell will ring around five o'clock."

"Sweet! I love food! Now if you'll excuse me, I have some exciting business to attend."

Allfire soon left, and Seyon threw himself onto the bed next to Scarlet.

"Now where were we?"

"We were right here…"

Scarlet and Seyon were about to kiss again, but there was another knock on the door. Seyon slowly got up and answered the door. There were two Braiglanders standing there with Corlea in front of them. Both of them were holding her arms behind her back as though she was under arrest.

"What's up?"

"We caught this pesky dragon trying to sabotage your steam car." One of the men stated in a serious tone.

"Really?" Seyon eyed Corlea as though he had never seen her before. "Leave her with me. I'll figure out just what to do with her…"

"Yes sir!" The two men forced Corlea into the room and soon left.

"Who were those men?" Scarlet asked, still lying on the bed.

"Remember when that SB-4 landed here this morning?"

"Of course! I don't think that anyone could have missed it."

"I had a bunch of people come in it so that they could put all of the things that Robin stole back in their places."

"I see…"

"So, Corlea, what were you doing with the Beast?"

"I was fixing it. One of the brake lines had ruptured."

"Did you get it fixed?"

"I sure did!"

"Righteous!"

Once again, there was a knock on the door. Seyon threw it open, and Flicker was standing there.

"Greetings! What do you want?"

"Seyon, I just wanted to thank you for all that you did for Flame and me, as well as the rest of Camelhot."

"You are quite welcome."

"And thank you for refusing to marry Flame."

"I'm sure that Griddle is going to let me have it for that, but it is worth it to see you two together."

"Now I have something that I want to show you and to you only. It's an invention that I've been working on for quite some time."

"Fantastic! You've never shown me any of your inventions! I thought that you just stopped working on them."

"Come with me."

Flicker and Seyon walked silently across the castle. Eventually, they came to what was Flicker's room before Seyon ever came to the castle. He opened the door, and in the middle of the room was a sleek-looking automobile of Flicker's own design.

"This is what I have been working on all this time."

"Flicker, this is incredible!" Seyon declared as he walked around the car, not missing a single detail.

"What is powering it?"

Flicker opened the hood, and it revealed a large round cylinder that had a shaft sticking out of it. It was connected to a gearbox which had another, larger shaft sticking out of it. That shaft led to a box that was mounted under the back of the car. It had two axels that stuck out of it on either side that drove the rear wheels.

"I call the engine a turn-bind! High-pressure steam blows across hundreds of blades that spin a shaft. That goes to the gear box with then goes to the rear gear box that actually turns the wheels."

"That's awesome! Does it run?"

"I don't know. I wanted you to look over it before I tried it."

"Sure! That's apparently one of the things that I do."

They spent nearly three hours discussing the various strengths and flaws of Flicker's steam-powered car. Seyon was overall impressed with his design, finding only a handful of possible problems. Finally, they decided that the car could be tested at any time. The two climbed inside, going over the details of the car's interior. Then, however, Flicker completely changed the subject.

"Seyon, there's a reason why I brought you here."

"Yes, and it was to show me this marvelous piece of engineering, right?"

"Not quite. Seyon, I think that tonight is… the night."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, the night?"

"Oh, right!" Seyon finally figured out what Flicker was talking about.

"How are you going to do it?"

"Plain and simple."

"Well, good luck. Come on, let's see!" Seyon held out his hand, which was rock steady. Flicker held his out, and it was shaking quite a bit.

"Not too bad! Don't worry. Everything will work out fine."

"Do you think so?"

"I know so."

Then, they could faintly hear the dinner bell inside the car's relatively soundproof interior.

"All right, Flicker. Let's rock and roll!"

They were the last ones to enter the royal dining hall. When they did so, they found that food had already been served, though it was untouched, since everyone wanted to wait for Seyon and Flicker to arrive before they began eating. Flicker sat next to Flame at the royal table. There was a seat reserved for Seyon, but he instead sat in between Scarlet and Corlea.

"Here's to Seyon!" Allfire exclaimed as he held up a glass filled with wine. "Without his help, Robin would have won, and Camelhot would have been in the dark ages! Metaphorically speaking, of course."

"To Seyon!" All the dragons held up their wine glasses, and then simultaneously sipped from them. Flicker, however, drank all of his wine in one gulp.

"Flicker, is there something wrong?" Flame asked, worried about this unusual behavior.

"Oh, no. Nothing."

The entire room was filled with an awkward silence as everyone ate. No one seemed to have anything to say.

"So this one time…" Seyon suddenly blurted out, trying to break the silence. All of the diners turned their attention to him, expecting him to elaborate.

"Yep. That was a great time, or something." He had absolutely no story in mind.

"Oh! I've got one! Corlea, do you want to hear a knock-knock joke?"

"Sure!"

"Excellent! Knock-knock"

"Come in!"

"…You suck."

More and more food was served, and the wine continued to flow like water. Finally, not a single person could eat another bite. Perhaps the only one who had not cleaned his plate was Flicker.

"Flicker, tell me what's wrong!" Flame demanded, holding his hand, since she noticed that he had been acting unusual all night.

"I'm… nervous…"

"Why?"

"Flame, there is something that I've been meaning to ask you…" He had the attention of all of the diners because he was the only one speaking.

"What is it?"

Flicker took a deep breath before finally speaking again.

"Flame, will you marry me?"

He pulled out a box from his pocket and carefully opened it, revealing a gorgeous gold ring with a large ruby and two smaller diamonds on either side of it.

Flame could not speak. Flicker had finally asked the question that she had always hoped to hear.

"Of course I will!" She finally answered with tears of joy flowing from her eyes.

Everyone clapped and cheered except for Griddle, who was once again infuriated, but this was to be expected. Flicker slipped the ring onto Flame's finger, even though she couldn't stop crying.

"Flicker! You're putting it on the wrong finger!" She said in a broken sentence.

Flicker took the ring off and put it on the correct finger this time. And thus, Flicker and Flame were engaged.


	8. Seyon's Last Days in Camelhot

"When should we have the wedding?" Flame asked her love quietly as she rubbed his chin.

"As soon as we can, dear." Flicker replied softly, holding her close.

The two were lying in Flame's plush bed, the room almost completely absent of light, except for the dim glow of the moon. Suddenly, a thundering noise resounded clearly. Flame, dressed in her usual nightgown, answered the door.

"What's up?" Seyon shouted in his usual tone.   "Flicker and I were trying to sleep."   "Well, take a rain check on that. I have something to show to you and Flicker, and everyone else."   "What is it?"   "It is a secret! You two will have to come with me to find out."   "Very well." Flame replied somewhat apathetically. She went over to get Flicker out of bed, but he had overheard their conversation and was already up.   Seyon lead both of them through the castle and out into the vast green field surrounding the castle. The rest of the residents of Camelhot were already there, all of them standing next to the building that had been built when they all went to Braigland. As Flame and Flicker were led closer, they could hear the slow, steady puffing of the large steam engine that was housed in that building. Finally, they joined the rest of the crowd.

"Seyon, when are you going to show this off?" Blaze complained. "It's cold out here, and I need my beauty sleep!"   "Hold your horses. I still need to make my speech." Seyon answered as he walked over to a large box that had a lever protruding out of it.

"All right, everyone. Now you will see a modern Camelhot in a dark age! The combined talents of some of the greatest inventors of all time have come together over the ages to bring us this high standard of living!" Seyon proclaimed. "That sounded smart, didn't it?" He whispered to Scarlet, who was standing next to him. She smiled.

"And now…" Seyon continued. "The moment we have all been waiting for! Let us shed light on these dark ages!"   Seyon pulled the large lever, which clunked when it reached the bottom. At once, Camelhot, which was dimly lighted by the moon, shined brightly with a golden light, as if lighted by daylight.

Everyone gasped at the sudden brilliance that had been cast upon their castle.   "Seyon, this is astounding!" Allfire exclaimed.

"I know. Just think of all the great people who helped make this possible. Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Nikola Tesla, Angus Young…"   "Angus is a rock star, _not _an inventor!" Corlea corrected him from somewhere in the crowd.

"I know, but that doesn't mean that he isn't great! Anyway, remember all the lights, plumbing, and other stuff that I told you all about?"   The entire crowd responded in the affirmative.

"They all work now, so use them to the fullest! Now let us go back inside. I think that we are done here!"

Soon, the entire population was back inside Camelhot, sleeping in their soft beds, except for Seyon, who secretly left for Weston-super-Mare in the middle of the night, being careful not to let anyone know about his intentions.

Scarlet awoke at dawn at the sound of Seyon entering the room. She glanced up, and quickly saw something strange about him. He was with another woman. She was an absolutely gorgeous human, dressed in an exquisite dress, but she had a wretched odor.   "Whose the lady?" Scarlet asked calmly, as she was used to him bringing in friends.

"She is the daughter of the great King Richard, and my new girlfriend."

"Wh… what?" Her entire body suddenly felt cold.

"I'm sorry, but I'm the king of Edinburrough, and the president of Braigland! I need to have someone with class by my side. Not some street rat, like you!"

Scarlet burst in to tears. She quickly leapt out of bed, thrust Seyon and his new girlfriend aside, and ran out through the door as fast as she could. She sprinted through the castle and made here way to the drawbridge. As she ran toward it, Seyon, who was entering the castle, caught her in a bear hug.  "Let me go!" She screamed as she fought and struggled to break free.

"What's wrong?" Seyon, quite alarmed by her screaming and crying, asked.

"How dare you call me a street rat! I thought that you love me." She cried.  "What are you talking about? I do love you!"

"Oh yeah? Then where's that new girlfriend of yours?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about? Please explain it to me!"   "You came in to my room, told me about your new girlfriend, called me a street rat, and then I ran to here as fast as I could." She snapped.

"Do you see a problem?"   "What?"   "Look. How could I have possibly done all of that and met you here when you ran here as fast as you could? That's like, totally impossible!"   Scarlet at once calmed down, as she knew what he was saying was true.

"I say that something funny is going on!" Seyon stated.

"You're right! So… you do love me right?"  "Of course!"   "And you don't think that I'm a street rat?"   "Of course not!"

"Seyon, I love you so much!" She hugged him, crying with joy.

"Listen I have something to tell you. Braigland is having disputes with her mother country, Papua New Guinea. I have to go back, and it may be a long time before I can come back."  "I'm so sorry to hear that. Can I come with you?"   "Well, the problem is that Braigland has strict immigration laws. It would be extremely hard to bring you into the country."   Scarlet's heart sank. She had hoped to live there with him someday, but now it seemed unlikely to ever happen.

"However, there is one way to get around the law."   "What is it?"

"If we were to get married here, then bringing you into the country would be a piece of cake!"   "Really?"   "So, will you marry me?" He asked as he whipped out a gorgeous diamond ring from his pocket and held it in front of her.

"Of course I will!" She could hardly keep her eyes dry.

Seyon effortlessly slipped the ring onto her finger and then kissed her.

"I was gone all night so that I could have this ring made. Now why don't we go back to our room and show 'Seyon' what he has coming?" Seyon suggested.

"Sweet!"

They walked back to their room, hand in hand. When they arrived, they found Corlea sitting on their bed, with the imposter and his girlfriend tied to the bedpost.

"Hi!" She greeted them. "Check this out!"

She pulled a mask off of Seyon's impersonator, only to reveal Count Geoffrey. Then, she pulled the mask of off the princess, and it revealed Merle the Wizard.

"We had a perfect plan, had Corlea not foiled it!" Merle snapped in her raspy voice.   "Crud! Seyon and I were going to foil it!" Scarlet declared.  

"Can I at least torture them?" Scarlet asked Seyon.

"Sure!"

She darted into the bathroom and quickly rushed back out, holding a bar of soap. She sat in front of the two captives and she held it in front of their faces.

"Check this out! It's so clean…"   Merle and Geoffrey screamed in horror.  

"So…" Seyon began, "What was your plan? I can think of no conceivable way that this plan would have made sense!"   "We well never tell!" Merle snapped back.

"Very well. Scarlet, go on!"   She rubbed Merle's face with the soap, and then the wizard panicked and immediately told everything.

"We figured that if you would break up with Scarlet, then I, cleverly disguised as this princess, would marry you, giving me and subsequently Geoff control of Edinburrough and Braigland!"

"Too bad it didn't work. After all, Scarlet and I are now engaged! Now I am going to release both of you, and then you two are going to get lost, got it?"   Seyon untied them, and then they darted away in shame, since this was just another one of their evil schemes that failed.   "Ha! Scarlet, have Corlea burn that soap and then come with me so that we can talk to Flicker and Flame."

At once, Seyon left for Flicker and Flame's room, while Scarlet decided to discuss all of the recent happenings with Corlea.

"I can't believe it. Count Geoffrey tried to take me away from Seyon…"   "I know. I was there for the entire thing!"

"Anyway, I was going to run far, far away after Seyon said that he had a new girlfriend, but then, I ran into him on the drawbridge. It quickly became apparent that something was fishy about Seyon leaving me."   "That worked out rather well, didn't it?"   "It sure did! However, Seyon explained to me that he has been called back to Braigland and will soon be leaving England." Scarlet sadly stated.  "I'm sorry to hear that, but I too must be leaving. It's been nearly a week, and I have to get back, but maybe we can go back together. Besides, I have to re-dye my hair!"   "What are you talking about?"   "My hair isn't naturally this shade of red. It's actually brown, but I dye it this color. Actually, I bleach it, _then _dye it with a special dye so I can get this natural shade of red."

"Interesting… But at least my hair is naturally red! So, when you go back to Braigland, will I ever see you again?"   "Of course, but in due time."

"Anyway, back to the original topic. So long story short, in order to make it easier for me to go to Braigland, we are going to get married!" She proudly showed off her luscious engagement ring.

"Congratulations!"   "Thanks! Now I'm going to go see Flicker and Flame!"   Before Corlea could say anything else, Scarlet was gone. She quickly arrived at Flicker and Flame's room. The door was open, so she simply walked in. When she did, she found Flicker and Flame sitting on Flame's bed, and Seyon was sitting in a nearby chair.

"So, that's what's up." Seyon stated, apparently having finished explaining everything to Flicker and Flame.

"Scarlet my dear! I'm so glad that you could join us!" Seyon exclaimed, having just noticed that Scarlet had entered the room.

Before Scarlet could say anything, Cinder and Clinker rushed past her and immediately delivered a message to Seyon.

"Seyon, there's a package for you in your room." Clinker stated without showing any sort of enthusiasm. They disappeared in a flash.

"All right! It's here! Totally radical!"

"What is it?" Scarlet asked, wanting to know just what could make her fiancé so excited.

"Come with me! To our room!" Seyon leaped out of his chair onto Flame's bed, ran across it, and then was gone.

By the time Flicker, Flame, and Scarlet had made it to the room, Seyon was already fighting with a large wooden crate, trying to get it open. Having no luck, he rushed to his famous closet and pulled out an iron crow, one of Flicker's many inventions. He dashed over to the crate with was marked "Fragile" on top, and pried the lid loose. Inside was a bunch of white, oddly shaped objects that had the consistency of nothing that the dragons had seen before.

"No! Not packing peanuts!" Seyon shouted. "The most evil of peanuts!"

Seyon pulled out another wooden box out of the "packing peanuts." It was a fine box that was stained a dark brown. He carefully set it down on his bed and opened it. It was lined with purple velvet, and laid in the velvet was an odd-looking rifle. It was about the same length as a regular rifle, but the stock and barrel were much fatter. Seyon pulled it out of the case, opened the empty breach, and then aimed it at a wall.

"Ha ha! Man, this thing is awesome!" He exclaimed as he lowered the barrel.

"What's so great about it?" Flicker queried, having fired some of Seyon's rifles before.

"_This _my friend, is called a two-bore rifle! This is no ordinary rifle, and you'll see why when I fire it. Hang on; let me find some ammo for it. Here, hold it!"

Seyon thrust it to Flicker, who was nearly knocked over, and returned to the packing crate. After digging around in the packing peanuts, Seyon pulled out a cardboard box that had a picture of a bullet on it. He took the gun back from Flicker and handed him the heavy box. From Flicker's experience, a box of ammo with that size and weight would have a hundred or more shiny brass rounds in it. When he opened it, he was surprised to see only ten massive cartridges in it.

"Seyon, these are _huge!_"   "I know! And expensive, too!" Seyon added.

At once, Corlea, who had some time ago left the room, returned. Upon seeing Seyon's new toy, she was thoroughly ecstatic.   "Whoa! Is this a four-bore!?" She asked as she took one of the cartridges from Flicker's hand.

"Better yet! It's a two-bore!"   "No way! Can I fire it?"   "Um, sure, but I get to fire it first."

Suddenly, Griddle's voice bellowed clearly all the way from the throne room.   "Flame, come here immediately!"

Flame sighed. "I'll see you all later. I need to find out what Queen Griddle wants of me."

She quickly left the room, as she knew that for every moment that Griddle had to wait, she would become more and more frustrated. She soon arrived, hoping that her stepmother was in a good mood. Griddle was sitting on her throne as usual.

"What is it, stepmother?" Flame calmly asked.

"Now that you are engaged, you will need a new dress. After all, once you are married, you will become a queen. You can't possible dress up as you are dressed now if you want anyone to respect your authority!"   "Yes, stepmother…"   "I want you to go to Weston-super-Mare to buy a new dress. Have Seyon take you in his beastly carriage so he can help you pick one out. Take no one else."

"But why can't Flicker come with me?"   "Because he is your fiancé! We can't have him deciding about a dress for you!" Griddle snapped, inadvertently showing her lack of approval for Flicker.

"Very well…"

She soon returned to Seyon's room, where she found him, as well as Flicker, Scarlet and Corlea marveling over the huge rifle.

"That was fast! So are you going to watch me fire my rifle now?" Seyon blurted out.  "No. Queen Griddle wants you, and you only to take me to Weston-super-Mare so I can get a new dress immediately."

"Why can't I come?" Flicker asked, with a strong presence of anger in his voice.

"I don't know, but Griddle was very clear, and I'm not going to disobey her.'   "Very well…"

"Wait, she said not to take anyone with you, right?" Seyon started.   "Right."

"What if I was to take everyone with _me?" _Seyon suggested.

"I'm sorry, but Griddle won't take it as literally as you."

"Total crudness. Well, shall we go before she gets insanely mad? I mean she's always mad, but we don't want it to get worse…"   Soon, Seyon and Flame were barreling down a dirt road on their way to Weston-super-Mare. For the most part, they did not speak. Seyon was lost deep in thought, but then he came to a conclusion.

"Flame! I know why Griddle sent just the two of us!"   "Why?"   "Suppose we were to fall in love with each other, and instead of you marrying Flicker and me marrying Scarlet, we were to be married."   Flame gasped. "How could you suggest such a thing!?"

"Think about it. How would it benefit Griddle if we were to be married? She would have indirect access to my vast riches and stuff. So, she sends us alone on this trip and wants me to help you pick out a dress. That could be kind of romantic."

Flame thought for a moment. Every time the thought turned over in her mind, it seemed to make more and more sense.

"Your right. But we won't let her plan work, will we?"   "Of course not!"

"Flame, I'll be honest with you. I… um… exist."   "Okay…"   "Actually, I forgot what I was going to say. So, when are you going to have your wedding?"   "As soon as possible."  "That's amazing… That's exactly when we are supposed to have our wedding! If Scarlet and I don't get married quickly, then she won't be able to go to Braigland with me."

"I wish you could stay longer…"

"Me too. Finally! We are here!"

Seyon soon parked the Beast next to the clothier, which they promptly entered. Inside was a myriad of clothes, ranging from clothes for the commoner, all the way up to exquisite attire for kings and queens. Seyon followed Flame, as she had been there many times and knew her way around. She browsed through several outfits, and one caught her eye. It was made of fine silk, and it was a mixture of red and violet. She took it over to the fitting rooms, and soon, she emerged.

"What do you think?" She asked as she admired herself in the mirror.

"Flame, you look beautiful. Hang on just a second."   Seyon walked up to her and put a gorgeous necklace on her. It had a fine gold chain that supported a purple sapphire that was embellished in a striking gold facet.

"Seyon, where did you get this? It's gorgeous!"   "It's a gift from me. I thought that it would look great on you, and it does. _Now_ you look like a queen!"

Then, the storekeeper approached them. She was an older lady, and spoke with a strong English accent.   "How are you today milady?"   "I'm just fine." Flame replied. "How much is this dress?"   "It's a fine little piece that one is. For you it'll be one hundred and twenty pounds."

"What!? I may be a princess, but I can't afford that! Unless, someone would be nice enough to buy it for me…" She hinted to Seyon with a sly look.

"It's awfully expensive…"

"Please, Seyon? Please?"

"And you just suppose that I'm made of money, don't you?"   "Well, aren't you?"   "…Yes. I'll buy it for you, but you owe me!"

"Thank you so much!"

She hugged him and then dashed away to the fitting rooms to change back into her old dress. Seyon paid for the dress in pure silver, the form of currency that he preferred to use. Flame then came back, holding her new attire over her shoulder.

"All right, Flame. Now that I have no money, I guess we should just go back to Camelhot."   It took them just over an hour to reach the oddly-shaped castle. When they crossed the bridge and entered the courtyard, they found that Queen Griddle was waiting for them. Seyon slowed the Beast and stopped it beside her.

"Greetings, my liege!" Seyon shouted past Flame.

"How was your trip?"   "Decent."

"Flame, did you get a new dress?"  "Yes I did. Seyon bought it for me."

"Really?" The queen replied, thinking that her plan had worked.

"He also gave this fine necklace to me."

"When I saw it, I knew that it would look great on her, so I bought it!" Seyon blurted out.   Just then, Scarlet darted out of the castle and leapt into Seyon's arms, nearly knocking him out of his seat.   "Hey sweetie! You sure are happy to see me!" Seyon stated calmly, and then he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

Griddle, though being careful not to show her feelings, was quite distraught. Her shot at vast riches and fame had failed. Seyon glanced at her, almost showing that he had figured out her plan.

"All right. Let us go inside!" Seyon boldly stated as he so often did. "Now Flame, meet me in my room. Scarlet, find Flicker and bring him there as well. I have a… er… an important announcement!"

Not half an hour later, they all met in what was now Seyon, Scarlet, and Corlea's room, though she was not present.   "All right! Let the announcement begin!" Seyon blurted out. "As you all know, I am to leave for Braigland in just a few days. Scarlet and I are going to have our wedding the day after tomorrow, and then we've got to go."   "Seyon, you've done so much for us…" Flicker started off, but Seyon interrupted him before he could finish.

"Hang on! This isn't a good-bye! I'm just building up my point! Anyway, Corlea will be leaving with us. Now for the gist of this here speech. I had to figure out what to do about Edinburrough, and then I figured it out. Flicker, Flame, when you two kiss each other on that altar, you will then be known as King Flicker and Queen Flame of Edinburrough. At that moment, you both will receive my crown, which I lost some time ago, so it might be more of a metaphorical crowning…"

The room fell silent. Flicker and Flame looked at each other, not knowing what to think. Then, Cinder and Clinker burst into the room, holding a large box.

"Package for Seyon." Clinker stated without even the slightest hint of enthusiasm.   "Total sweetness! My Nintendo is here! I wish Corlea were here to play it with me. Does anyone know where she is?"   "Count Geoffrey kidnapped her!" Cinder answered.

"Figures. Oh well. I know that she can get out of there by herself. "

It was true. Just a little while before Seyon and Flame had returned to the castle, Corlea was napping soundly on her bed when Count Geoffrey and his evil knights took her away.

She was now chained to a wall in the torture chamber, and Count Geoffrey was about to attempt to get what he wanted from her.

"So… What is it you want from me?" Corlea asked politely.   "According to Merle's sorcery, you know more than you are making us believe."   "That's true."   "So, do you want to save the pain and just spill it all now?"   "Nope. But hurry up and do whatever it is that you are going to do to me. I want to get back to Camelhot!"

 "If you don't spill the beans, then you will never return!"   "Fine. I am actually Princess Corlea of Braigland, daughter of Seyon and Scarlet, from the future! Ooooh!"   "So you are actually the princess of Braigland? You could be worth something to me…"  "Well, not really. Princess is simply the title given to the daughter of the president. It's just a title and nothing else. It's not like I have a claim to the throne of Braigland, especially since it's a democracy…"

"Really…"

"Now you are going to let me go, right?"   "No. I haven't finished asking you questions. Now how can I take down Seyon?"   "It would be almost impossible. He has a whole country to back him up. I would say that the best thing you could do is befriend him."  "Never!"

"Seriously. Look at Flicker and Flame. They are two of his best friends, and look at where they are now."

"...Well, I hate to say it, but you've got a point. However, I'm not going to befriend him, but I will get on his good side, or something..."   "You see? Perhaps being evil is not the best solution."

 "I guess you're right. Here, I'll let you go."  Geoffrey pulled a key out of his tunic and unlocked all four of the massive locks that held Corlea to the wall.

"Corlea, before you leave, I must ask something."  "Shoot."

"How is it that you are Seyon and Scarlet's daughter? I thought that a human and a dragon couldn't bear a child."

"Of course! That's why they adopted me. Now, I must ask _you_ something. Is it true that you like to write?"   "No. You're thinking of my cousin, Geoffrey of Monmouth_._ I'll tell you, he is obsessed with those stupid Camelhotians! He is constantly writing tales about them!"

"I see…"   Corlea flew away and headed for one of the huge gaping holes in Castle Treadbare walls. However, not being an expert flyer, her wing tip caught the edge, causing her to spin out and plummet into the alligator-infested moat below. She climbed out, having narrowly escaped from the alligators, soaked with the rank water. Finally, she made it back to Camelhot, still dripping wet.

When she returned, she found Seyon and Scarlet sitting on the floor, their eyes focused on the glowing screen in front of them. Patsy was carefully watching Scarlet's tail so that she could attack it when it moved even the slightest bit. In Seyon's hand was a rectangular object that had several buttons on it. A cord connected it to Seyon's 'Nintendo.' Scarlet's controller was sitting on the floor in front of her.   "Righteous! I got a star!" Seyon shouted after completing the level. "That makes three, so I get five lives!"

"Hey Corlea!" Scarlet exclaimed in her usual manner. "No offense, but you reek!"

"Yeah. I fell into the moat around Castle Threadbare."   "That explains it."   "You two have fun! I'm going to take a shower."

Corlea disappeared into the bathroom, desperately trying to get rid of her foul stench. Meanwhile, it was Scarlet's turn to play Seyon's favorite video game.   "Okay, so how do I run?"   "Press that button right there."

"Sweet!"   The heavily pixilated, red-hatted character dashed across the screen. Then, he came to a pit.   "Let's see… Ah ha! Jump!" Scarlet pushed the "A" button, and then her character jumped, but, misjudging his momentum, he fell right into the pit and her turn was over.

"Foolish plumber man! Your insolence shall be your demise!"   "Scarlet, what are you talking about?"  "I don't know…"

Then, Flicker entered the room completely unannounced. He had quite a disgruntled look about him, which was quite uncharachteristic of his personality.

"Flicker, is there something wrong?" Seyon asked with most of his attention focused on the video game in front of him.

"Seyon, I have a problem…"   "Oh dear! Is it a problem with Flame? I know that you two have been together all day."   "Not at all. You know that car I built?"   "Sure. That thing's awesome! When you get it up and running, I'll race you. What do you think? The Beast versus your car."   "That's fine and all, but again, I have a problem. Well, I built it in my old room, but… it won't fit through the door. It's stuck up there…"

"Don't worry, I'll have some dudes come over and get that thing down."   "Thank you."

Seyon at once dashed over to his nightstand where his infamous radio lay. He picked it up, hit several buttons, and waited for a response.

"Bradford? Is that you?"

"..........."

"Excellent! Hey, I've got a job for the Burgundy Dragon Brigade."

* * *

"Flicker build a car in the north tower here and he can't get it down. Have the entire brigade come over and bring whatever it takes to get it down."

* * *

"Awesome! I'll see you soon!"

He pushed a button on the radio and set it back on the nightstand, not even wondering why he chose such a poor place for his sophisticated equipment.

"That's done! Now where's Flame?" Seyon inquired as he sat down in front of the television.   "All right. Flame, you can come in!" Flicker shouted through the door.

She slowly entered, and she was dressed in her lavish new attire. Her new necklace complemented her dress perfectly. Her engagement ring sparkled in the sun's light. She was truly the perfect queen. She was not wearing her chapeau, indicating that she was soon to be wearing a crown in its place.

"Flame, you look awesome!"  "Thank you!"   "Why don't you come in and relax? Scarlet and I are playing video games!"  "What's a video game?"  "Why don't you stick around and find out?"

"Sure."  Flicker was sitting on what used to be his bed, with Flame in his arms. Scarlet and Seyon were still playing the same game, though Seyon was far ahead. Finally, it was Scarlet's turn.   "I can do this! Come on little man, do what I tell you to!" Even Scarlet's shouts could not make up for her extreme lack of skill.

"OUCH! Stop it!"   She looked behind and saw Patsy gnawing on her tail. She swatted the cat who promptly took off. By that time, it was too late. Scarlet's character had been attacked, and her turn was now over.

"That was most uncool!"

"Uncool for you that is! Let's see if I, Seyon, can work my magic."

Just moments after he started, there was a knock at the door. Once again Seyon darted for the door, having paused his game. He opened it in his usual, quick manner, and on the other side was none other than Count Geoffrey, and he immediately had the attention of everyone in the room.

"Mister Count Geoffrey! What brings you here?"

"I want to um..."

"Um?"

"Hang out! That's what it's called!"

"Sure! You're more than welcome to use my rocking chair over there."

Count Geoffrey made his way to Seyon's chair, which was positioned so that it faced the television.

Flame, obviously unnerved by the apparently welcome intrusion of Camelhot's arch enemy into their room, beckoned Seyon to follow her outside. When Seyon had left the room, she shut the door behind them.

"Seyon, why did you let Count Geoffrey in?" She snapped.

"Why not?"

"Because he's going to try to take over Camelhot! That's why!"

"Don't worry about it, Flame. He won't get away with anything. I promise."

She knew that Seyon was true to his word whenever he promised anything, since he had never broken one of his promises without good reason. Therefore, she felt much more at ease, although she was naturally still suspicious.

"Okay, but I need to go to my room. I'll be right back."

"All right. We'll be waiting for you!" Seyon cheerfully announced as he was halfway in the doorway.

Flame navigated through the numerous corridors and hallways of the castle before finally arriving at her room. She opened the door and trotted in as usual, slowly closing the door behind her to lessen the squeaking of the hinges. She approached her dresser, and suddenly someone grabbed her from behind and picked her up.

"Flicker?" She had every reason to believe that it was her love that had picked her up from behind, as it would not have been the first time that he had done so.

"Guess again." Said an all too familiar voice.

"Maclaren!" The very thought of his presence sent chills down her spine.

"Very good!"

"Wha... What are you doing here?" At this point she feared for her life.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you as long as you do what I say."

"What is that?"

"You are going to help me take down Seyon."

"Never!"

"Really?"

Maclaren set her back on her feet but kept a firm grip on her. He freed his right arm and pulled a large knife out of a sheath on his belt. He slowly placed the blade against her neck.

"Are you sure that you're not going to help me?"

"Fine. I will help you..."

"That's more like it! Your first task is to make sure that the wedding between Scarlet and him never takes place. When you have completed your task, then we will meet again."

"Very well."

"And one last thing. If you tell anyone about me, then that will be your last mistake!"

At once he thrust her away and leapt out of her window and he landed in the moat below.

Flame had no idea as to what to do. She could tell Seyon and hopefully he could stop the former king of Edinburrough before he could do anything to her. On the other hand, she could fulfill her commitment to Maclaren in which case she would have yet another task to complete. The choice seemed obvious. She could never do anything to harm Seyon. She would rather lose her own life than help Maclaren destroy him. She continued to think about the possible outcomes as she headed back to Seyon's room.

When she arrived, she found Seyon sitting on his bed, apparently done playing his video game. Corlea, who was still dripping wet from her shower and wearing nothing but a towel since her only set of clothes were being washed had taken his place. Scarlet sat next to her, ready for her turn. Count Geoffrey was laying back in Seyon's rocking chair, watching the game.

Flame once again beckoned Seyon to meet her outside, and he quickly did so.

"What's up?"

Flame looked down both ends of the hallway before speaking.

"I have something to tell you..."

"What is it?"

"I..." Just then, she saw Maclaren standing on the small balcony at the end of the hallway. He glared at her.

"I love you!" She blurted out, since that was the first phrase that came to her mind.

"Your kidding, right?"

"Of course not...!"

There were numerous things that Seyon was good at, but only a few things that he was great at. One of them was his understanding of body language. He "spoke" the language just as well as he spoke English. At this point, he had a good idea of what was going on.

"Flame, is there something wrong? Tell me." He whispered to her.

"Well..."

Suddenly, Seyon spun around, pulled out an odd-looking pistol out of his pocket, and fired one shot down the hallway. The shot was extremely quiet and the projectile made a whistling noise as it traveled through the air. Just moments later, Maclaren collapsed.

"...Seyon! How did you know?"

"First of all your eyes kept switching between the me and the window. Then, I saw his reflection in your eye. I was all like, 'Whoa, Maclaren is standing there! He is so going down!'"

"Is he... dead?

"Of course not! He's just unconsious. You see, this crazy gun here fires harmless knock-out darts. He'll come to in an hour or so. Now which one of these here ropes makes the guards come?" Seyon asked, pointing to the three pull ropes that hung from the ceiling.

Flame had to think. She was still in shock and could hardly concentrate at all.

"It's... that one."

"Right!" Seyon blurted out as he tugged on the rope.

At once, Cinder and Clinker appeared.

"Hello hello hello!" Cinder exclaimed.

"No! That was not the right rope! FOOLS!" Seyon shouted in his usual manner.

"Clinker, what is that fly doing in my soup?" Cinder started.

"The backstroke." Clinker replied most monotously.

"NO! Begone fiends, or I'll kick your butts all the way to Timbuktu!" Seyon screamed as loud as he could for almost no reason, causing Cinder and Clinker to dart down the hallway in terror.

"Now, Flame, which rope is it?"

The entire levity of the situation had calmed her down greatly, and now she could give the correct answer.

"The one on your right."

"Ah ha!" Seyon reached for the rope on the left.

"No! Your RIGHT!"

"Oh!"

Seyon pulled the correct rope, and within moments two large dragon guards arrived, dress in metal plate armor.

"Guards! Take this man to the dungeon!" Seyon ordered.

The guards did nothing. Instead, they just stared blankly at him.

"I said, take this man to the dungeon! You know, take, as in, picking him up and carrying him away...?"

"Sorry sir, but we are not allowed to take orders from commoners."

"Right. Flame?"

"Guards! Take this man to the dungeon!" Flame ordered.

"Yes, milady!"

Maclaren's size required that both guards pick him up, but once they did, they were gone in a flash.

"Stupid Maclaren. All causing doom and stuff..."

"Seyon," Flame started off in a soft tone, "Thank you so much."

"You are welcome."

"He threatened to kill me if I didn't stop your wedding. I didn't know what to do."

"And it turned out that you didn't have to do anything! Now let's go back to my room and see what we have missed."

"Hold on, Seyon. There's something that I have been wanting to give you for quite some time and I believe that now is the perfect time." She said in a soft, sweet voice.

"What is it?"

Without warning she put her arms around him. Then, she kissed him. It was not just a kiss of friendship, but a kiss full of passion and love. Seyon, though, quite taken back, held her tightly in response. After too short a time, she stopped, and without leaving his embrace, spoke softly again.

"Seyon, that was for all you have done for me. You are the most generous, kind-hearted, and loving person that I have ever met. Thank you."

The moment was cut short when a voice yelled from down the hall.

"What's going on here!?"

It was none other than Scarlet, Seyon's overly jealous and psychotic fiancee, and she was FURIOUS. Flame jerked away, feeling a rush of adrenaline surging through her.

"Um... Scarlet! It's not what you think!"

Immediately Scarlet attacked her. She threw Flame against the wall, back first, and pinned her against it. Flame was absolutely terrified.

"How dare you touch him!" Scarlet yelled in her face. "He's mine, not yours, you filthy rat!"

"But Scarlet..." Flame began, hoping to end her verbal abuse.

"Silence!"

Then Flame remember something Seyon had long ago taught her. She was royalty, and thus had tremendous authority.

"Scarlet, as Princess of Camelhot, I demand you release me, or so help me I'll have you thrown in the dungeon for the rest of your life!" She declared boldly, but it had no effect.

Suddenly Seyon stepped in pushed the two apart.

"Scarlet, stop it!"

"But she kissed you!"

"No she didn't, I kissed her!" Seyon blatantly lied, but Scarlet always knew that Seyon would always be completely loyal to her, no matter what happened, and would therefore instantly forgive both of them.

"Oh... Flame, is this true?"

Flame nodded yes, hoping that Seyon had a plan in mind.

"Oh. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

"It's, uh, okay..."

Seyon then picked up Scarlet as he loved to do so often and carried her back to his room. Her mood had completely changed. She was happy and comfortable as can be in her lover's arms.

Flame now had no desire to return to Seyon's room. Instead, she resolved to visit the dungeon to make sure that Maclaren was justly imprisoned. When she arrived, she was shocked. The lock was broken and the iron door was wide open. Maclaren had escaped in no more than half-an-hour. Flame felt chills down her spine. She walked away, but she was immediately apprehened from behind.

"You've failed your mission Flame!" Maclaren said as he held her tightly.

"Please don't hurt me! I'll do anything you say! I promise!" Flame pleaded desperately.

"It's too late for that. The time has come for me to end your life."

Maclaren picked her up and placed her in a corner with her facing him. She caught sight of the knife that Maclaren always carried. She was sobbing quite heavily and her life flashed before her eyes.

"Flame, turn around!"

She reluctantly did as she was told. She pressed herself into the corner and her captor held her with one of his massive arms. She could feel the tip of his sharp knife against her back under her left wing, ready to pierce her heart.

"Are you ready?"

Flame nodded, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Here it goes!"

Suddenly, a voice rang clearly from behind.

"Are you on the ball?" Seyon shouted, holding a shiny red bowling ball in his hand.

"What?" Maclaren asked as he spun around.

"Get on the ball for only nineteen ninety nine! Seyon then launched it as hard as he could and it walloped Maclaren right on the face, sending him to the ground.

Flame immediately dashed over to Seyon and hid behind him as Maclaren got back up.

"You, then, shall perish too!"

"I love old wood furniture, don't you?"

Suddenly Seyon picked up a nearby chair and hurled it at him, and it struck him on the face and the chair splintered into pieces, again sending him to the ground. He then started to get back on his feet.

"Quick Flame!" Seyon whispered to her, "I'm out of Billy Mays stuff. Help me!"

She just stared blankly at him.

"Don't worry, I have Plan B!" He reassured her.

Maclaren finally stumbled back to his feet. Suddenly, Seyon whipped out his radio from his belt and pushed a button and began to speak into it.

"Bradford, are you ready?"

Maclaren slowly approached them, his knife in his hand, ready to strike.

"Okay, NOW!" Seyon shouted into the mouthpiece. At once, there was a blinding flash, and then Maclaren was gone!

"Wha... What happend?" Flame stuttered.

"I used the time machine to send him straight to our top security prison in Braigland! Pretty spiffy, huh? Let's go!" Seyon walked away, but he soon noticed that Flame wasn't following him.

"Flame, aren't you coming?"

"Just... a minute. I need to... catch my breath..."

"Hold on."

He returned to her and picked her up just as he had done so many times with Scarlet and he carried her away.

"So what are we going to do now?" Flame asked, resting comfortably in Seyon's arms.

"You've had a rough day. I'm going to get you in bed."

"What!?" Flame exclaimed, squirming in his arms.

"I said, I'm going to get you in bed."

"You can't mean that!"

"I do. You need your rest."

At once, Flame figured out what was happening. Seyon's choice of words were often quite poor, and this was one of those cases.

"Would you like to think about what you said, Seyon?"

Seyon stopped walking and thought out loud.

"I'm going to... get you... in bed..." He followed with a long hesitation... "Crud! I so didn't mean it that way!"

Flame giggled. She knew that Seyon could never do such a thing, especially to her.

Seyon walked for a little more, Flame resting comfortable in his arms, before they encountered Flicker, who was on his way to Flame's room.

"Here, Flicker. She's yours." Seyon said as he thrust Flame into his arms, nearly knocking him over. At that, Seyon left without saying anything else, and he soon arrived at his own room.

He silently entered and sat down on his bed. Scarlet and Corlea were still playing Seyon's Nintendo, having been playing for nearly six straight hours. Corlea was finally dressed up appropriately in some of Scarlet's clothes, which were a bit too big for her.

"What did I miss?" Seyon lazily asked.

"Lots of stuff!" Scarlet boasted. "I was like jumping, and flying, and swimming, and shooting fireballs, and..." She droned on, pointing to her character on the television.

"Pretty sweet! Hark! Someone knocks at the door!" Seyon shouted as he flew across the room.

He opened the door slowly, peering through to see who it was. His eyes opened wide, and he quickly dashed out through the door, slamming it behind him.

"Krystal! What in blazes are you doing here!? Somebody could see you!" Seyon exclaimed quietly with quite a rough tone.

"I miss you. I couldn't wait to see you again..." She replied softly and sweetly, trying to ease Seyon's anger.

"I told you never to leave my house without my permission! How in the world did you get here? "

"I coaxed Bradford into sending me here... Please forgive me!"

"You know, Scarlet and I are going to be back in two days! You could have waited two more days!" Seyon whispered harshly, rubbing his forehead in disgust.

"......."

"No matter. I do miss you." His tone immediately changed, and Krystal, sensing this, hugged him tightly, and he hugged her back. However, she had a much more profound reason for her unexpected arrival than just missing Seyon. It was a desperate attempt to foil Seyon's marriage.

"Now that you're here, what am I going to do with you?"

"You could... Introduce me to Scarlet... and everyone else!"

"Are you sure that you want to do that? You know, being who you are and all?"

"Please?"

Seyon sighed. "Very well. I'll let Scarlet and Corlea know that you're here. Wait out here."

He opened the door slowly, and just before entering, he brushed his hand against her cheek. "You know, you're lucky that I'm such a softy!"

"I know!" Krystal smiled.

Seyon walked back inside. Scarlet and Corlea were still focused on the television screen, ignoring him.

"Hey you two!" Seyon started off, trying to sound as little awkward as possible.

"What's up?" Scarlet asked. Corlea paid little to no attention whatsoever.

"There's someone here that I want you two to meet!"

"Okay! Let's see this strangerous person!"

"Hang on! I must warn you that she is not normal. Please do not be shocked by her appearance."

"What? Is she ugly or something?"

"I don't think so. However, she is very important to me, and it is very important that you all get along. Got that, Corlea?"

"Yeah yeah..."

"Okay! Krystal, come in!"

At once, she slowly trotted through the door, closing it slowly behind her. What Seyon meant by "She's not normal" quickly became apparent.

She had a perfect figure, and stood a bit over five and a half feet tall. Even so, she was clearly not human nor dragon. Her entire body was covered with a fine coat of blue fur, except for the front of her, which was a much lighter shade of blue, almost gray. Her head was somewhat large, boasting lush, green eyes and a short snout with a small black nose. She wore a gold trinket bearing a diamond-shaped ruby over her forehead. Her hair consisted of large blue straight-locks, which stopped over her eyebrows but continued down to her neck on the back of her head. Her ears strongly resembled that of a cat. In addition, she had a bushy blue tail which she swung side to side as Scarlet and Corlea examined her. As for clothing, she wore typical Braigland attire; a white tank top, short denim shorts, and sandals. She also wore a dog tag on a ball chain around her neck.

"Awesome!" Scarlet blurted out. "Are you, like, part cat or something?"

"Actually, she's part human, part fox, and a tiny bit dragon." Seyon answered for Krystal.

"How does that work?"

"It's a VERY long story. I'll explain later."

"Okay!" She immediately jumped to her feet and hugged Krystal.

"It's nice to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you too...!" Krystal replied, startled by Scarlet's reaction.

Seyon was absolutely stunned. Normally, Scarlet was extremely jealous of any woman who dared to even glance at Seyon. However, this was quite an unexpected exception. She welcomed the blue fox, despite her strange appearance and relationship with Seyon.

"Seyon... I want to speak with you... In private." Krystal said out of the corner of her mouth.

"Very well. Scarlet, Corlea, Krystal and I are going somewhere apparently. If you need to get hold of me, then too bad! My phone got exploded earlier. By me. Seyon."

Then Krystal and Seyon left the room, heading down the hallway.

"So Kyr Stel [Furball], what is it that you wish to talk about?"

She immediately dropped to her feet and clutched his hand tightly.

"Please marry me! PLEASE!" She begged with teary eyes.

"Well, I think I left my house on fire! I'd better get going!" Seyon suddenly stated, attempting to break free from her grip.

"I was just there! It is not on fire! Please be serious!"

Seyon kneeled down and held her hand tightly. He looked her in the eyes and spoke from his heart.

"Listen Krystal, I love you. I truly do. However, I can't marry you. Few people know about you and who you are. I simply can't marry someone that I can't talk about in public. Besides, you're not even a registered citizen of Braigland! Keep in mind that I also love Scarlet, and I am going to marry her. I'm sorry."

"When you saved me, I vowed that you would always have my heart. Please don't break it! You don't know what it's like, being the only one of a kind. I'm constantly looked upon as a 'freak.' You're the only one who treats me as a real person and as a friend. Please Seyon, you're all that I have!" The vixen sobbed.

Just then, Scarlet, who has apparently been listening for some time, spoke up.

"Krystal, Seyon is going to marry me. However, upon MY command, he will retain his relationship with you as it was before, even after we're married."

Krystal's eyes lit up. "...Really?"

"Of course!"

"Scarlet, are you insane?!" Seyon blurted out.

"No I'm not. I'm psychotic."

"Not the answer I was looking for. Anyway, after we are married, I can't have a relationship with her. I just can't! It's all like, against marriage and stuff!"

"Oh, you will. I can tell that she spoke from her heart. She cares for you deeply. After all, I have come from a similar background. Without you, I would be worthless. So, I would be selfish to keep you all to myself. Please, for my sake, do not leave her in the... um..."

"Dust?"

"Exactly!"

Seyon at once turned his eyes toward the strange blue vixen.

"There it is. I will keep my relationship with you as is."

Krystal was overjoyed. She jumped to her feet and hugged Scarlet.

"Thank you so much!" She cried.

"You're welcome."

"All right. I'm going to send you back to Braigland!" Seyon declared.

Krystal thrust herself into his arms and kissed him with her furry lips. Seyon walked back and pulled out his radio. He dialed a number and waited for a response.

"Bradford?"

"........"

"I want you to send Krystal back to my place."

"......."

"Wait!" The blue fox blurted out.

"What is it?" Seyon asked as he rolled his eyes.

"Please can I stay for one night? Please?"

"And risk someone seeing you? I think not."

"Please? I swear that I won't leave your room! I promise!" She declared as she let her glowing green eyes catch the setting sun perfectly, trying to entice him.

"...Okay. But I'm going to send you back bright and early, so be ready! Or else some serious doom will occur. Seriously!"

She giggled with joy and then thrust herself at Seyon, forcing him to catch her.

Meanwhile, Scarlet was completely unconcerned about the vixen's love for Seyon, and perhaps most shockingly, she was not at all jealous, despite her extensive history of violent jealousy. She just stood there, watching patiently as the two hugged tightly.

"Okay, Let's go back. As we walk, I'll give you an insanely great summary of how Krystal and I met, Scarlet my dear."

"Sweet!"

"It was several years ago. Some dirtbags from New Guinea, Braigland's mother country, kidnapped some dragons from Paradeux and did some horrible, abnoxious experiments on them."

"What kind of experiments?" Scarlet asked, always overly interested in Seyon's stories.

"Nasty stuff. I don't even want to speak of it."

"Tell me! I must know!"

"Shut up! I'm trying to tell an incredible story here! Anyway, so I got a team together and we all flew in Hornets and SB-4s there and raided the place. We rescued the dragons, and we also found some messed up genetic experiments."

"Genetic experiments?"

"Genetics, remember? I explained to you that they give us our physical characteristics."

"Oh yeah. I'm guess I'm just stupid."

"Exactly. Back to the story. So we found those horribly mutated failed genetic experiments and we were all like, 'Eew! Totally nasty!' However, one was not so messed up, or suckish even. It was Krystal here, or GME 153 as she was known to the Guineas."

"What does that stand for?"

"Genetic Manipulations Experiment number 153. So rather than destroying her, as my fellow radical raiders had destroyed the other horrible abominations, I secretly took her to my place and vowed to take care of her! Pretty sweet, huh?"

"Totally! Now how did she get the name Krystal?"

"Another funny and incredible story. Apparently some years ago the Guineas sent some pictures of her to one of my favorite game companies. Then, they actually put her in a game! I didn't know that for like a year after I found her. I'm always a little behind on the times. Anyway, they came up with the name Krystal, and then I named her after her video game counter part."

"Wicked!"

"Precisely. I even had some groomers, who I paid heavily to keep their noise holes shut about her, to groom her after the video game character."

"What did you call her before?"

"Geme, after GME. It's also Braig for avocado. That's enough about her. I'll give you full story on a rainy night."

They had just made it to the door when an unfortunately too familiar voice squealed from down the hallway.

"Seyon, Scarlet, yoo-hoo!"

"Blaze." Seyon growled lowly. Then he turned around sharply, trying to hide Krystal behind his back. "Sir Blaze, my friend! I haven't seen you in quite a while!"

"The knights and I have been on a quest for quite a while. We were searching for the Holy Pail."

"I thought that this place seemed unusually empty and peaceful. Did you find it?"

"All we found was the Holy Quail, the Holy Cail, and the Holy Grail. All useless. But at least we found the Holy Bucket."

"That's kind of like the Holy Pail, right?"

"Apparently not. Say, who are you hiding?" Blazed asked, trying to look behind him as he made sure to block his view. Finally, Blaze pushed him aside, revealing Krystal.

"Seyon..."

"Blaze, make sure you speak of her to no one. EVER."

"Why? She's... well, um... magnificent! That blue fur... Those green eyes... That fluffy tail... She's amazing!" He exclaimed as he dashed around her, inspecting her thoroughly. Krystal cocked her head to the side and lowered her ears, showing her shyness.

Just then, Blaze dashed down the hallway, shouting "Hey guys, look at what I found!" It was the very thing he was supposed to keep quiet.

"Fan freaking tastic!" Seyon exclaimed as he slapped himself in the forehead.

"What are we going to do?" Krystal asked with a nervous expression. "They can't find out about me, right?"

"Exactly. Don't worry, I have a most devious plan..."

"You don't really, do you?"

"Not at all. Wait, I've got a poorly thought-out idea! Follow me into my room!"

"Right!"

Seyon threw open the door and the three of them rushed in. Corlea was lying on her bed, half asleep.

"Corlea, shut up!" Seyon shouted as he forced Krystal under his bed.

"But I didn't say anything!"

"But now you did, so shut up! Got it? When Blaze and his gang of misfits comes in to see Krystal here, then shut up!"

"Right!"

By now, Krystal had managed to stuff herself among Seyon's forgotten treasures under his bed. Seyon sat on top of it innocently, with Scarlet as his side. It was not long before Blaze, followed by all of the knights, forced the door open and rushed inside, expecting to find the strange fox girl.

"Where is she?" Blaze asked in an overly friendly tone as always.

"My, what are you talking about?"

"You know, that furry girl? The one who I saw just a few moments ago?"

"Oh yeah. I had her sent back to Braigland."

"Why!? I wanted to show her to everyone!"

"Because she wasn't supposed to be here!"

"Why not?"

"Because of... Stuff! Insane stuff! Now Scarlet and I are trying to go to sleep. Can't you, like, leave us alone?"

"I guess... But I want to see her again, A-S-A-P!"

"Yeah, yeah. You will. Now begone, fiend!"

"Fine! Come on, knights! I can tell when we're not wanted!" Blaze blurted out in disgust. He turned around sharply and held his chin up high, and led the rest of the knights out through the door.

"Finally! It is now bedtime! What a rough and exciting day! Krystal, you're safe to come out now. You can sleep with Scarlet and me."

At that, she crawled out from under the bed, brushed herself clean of the various debris that had collected on her from the ever mysterious region under Seyon's bed, and climbed under the blankets on the bed. Scarlet followed, and Seyon crawled in between them, collapsing on top of the bed.

"Corlea, are you asleep?" Seyon asked with his face buried in the pillow.

"I was just a second ago." She replied with a low voice.

"Fantastic! It is time, for us, to go to bed!"

Seyon reached over Krystal and grabbed his wallet from his nightstand and threw it across the room, turning off the light switch upon impact.

"What a day..." He grumbled as he fell asleep.


	9. The Wedding

The Wedding

Seyon woke up early in the morning; the sun was just breaking over the horizon. He was half-asleep and decided that going back to sleep was hopeless. He turned toward Krystal, who, unbeknown to him, was awake. He started caressing her under the blanket as he so often liked to do to Scarlet. He started caressing her furry leg, moving up to her furry stomach. At once, Seyon's eyes opened wide.

"Pssst... Krystal!" Seyon whispered.

"What is it?" She asked as she turned over in his arms to face him.

"Are you... naked?"

She answered with a smile.

"Dang it! Just because you are part fox and you don't like wearing clothes because of it doesn't give you the right to parade around naked!"

"You've told me that before. But... I am not parading around. I am just lying here, under this blanket, next to you..." She replied as she pressed herself against him.

"Did I miss something? Is someone naked?" Scarlet said in a slurred voice as she tossed herself over to face the two.

"Yes. Krystal here is naked."

"What! I want to be naked!"

"Silence, you all! I am going back to sleep!" Seyon then closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep, and it was not long before he was actually asleep. However, his sleep was short lived. Not half-an-hour later, King Allfire burst into the room with a startled, nervous, and frantic expression.

"Seyon! I need your help immediately!"

"...What is it?" Seyon asked as he rolled over in bed.

"We have an emergency!"

"What could possibly be threatening enough for you to disturb my sleep?"

"Count Geoffrey is trying to take over Camelhot!"

"What!" Corlea shouted suddenly, since she had truly thought that Count Geoffrey had changed his ways after the events of the days before.

"Silence foolish dragon girl! Allfire, since when is this news...? Why don't you have the knights take care of it?"

"That would be murder! Count Geoffrey is riding on top of a most vicious beast! Only YOU can stop it!"

At that, everyone in the room woke up sharply. Seyon jumped out of bed and knelt down next to it, pulling out his 2-bore rifle case from under it.

"That dude is going down!"

"Seyon! I'm coming with you!" Krystal declared, having gotten out of bed just a few seconds after Seyon.

"Nonsense! You are going to stay here where it's safe." Seyon replied harshly as he took his heavy 2-bore out of its case.

"...Um... Seyon?" Allfire interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Who is that girl?"

"She is Krystal, one of my good friends." He automatically replied.

"Is there any reason as to why she is naked... and furry?"

"It's a long story. Come on! Let's go!" He shouted to the king as he darted past him, holding his massive elephant gun.

They dashed down numerous lengthy hallways and finally arrived outside the castle.

"Good gravy!" Seyon muttered as he spotted the beast and its rider strolling down the road leading to the castle, heading straight for them. "Count Geoffrey's riding a giant freaking rat!"

It was the most frightening creature the two had ever seen. After all, the rat was huge. Though it was about three hundred yards away and closing, Seyon figured that the rat must have been at least twenty feet tall. At once, Seyon tried to load the 2-bore, but it soon became apparent that he forgot the cartridges for it.

"This is, like, most uncool! I left the bullets under the bed!"

"You WHAT!"

Just then, Krystal arrived, now fully clothed, carrying a box of bullets.

"Seyon..." She panted. "I got here... as soon as I... discovered that you forgot the bullets..."

"You're awesome!"

He broke open the barrel of his rifle and inserted two of the massive cartridges, one in each barrel. This rifle was extremely unique. It was almost certainly the only double-barrel 2-bore in existence due to the weight the extra barrel gave it. It was extremely heavy, upwards of thirty-five pounds, but two shots were much more effective than one, and the extra weight helped cut down on the brutal recoil of the gun. It was not long before Count Geoffrey was right on top of them. Krystal hid behind Allfire so she would not be seen, as Seyon had instructed her to do.

"Greetings Camelhotians!" He started in his overly-confident voice from the top of his super rat, "It sure is a nice day for taking over Camelhot!" He let out an evil laugh.

"You'll never take over Camelhot!" Allfire rebutted.

"Yeah, right! I have this huge, vicious beast, and you have nothing that can stop me!"

"Just wait and see!"

"Come on, Felicity." Count Geoffrey said to his giant rat. "Let's go take over Camelhot!"

"Felicity! HA! That's a dumb name for a rat!" Allfire bluntly stated.

"Silence! It's too bad that after this, you will have no home!"

"Okay." Seyon began, finally having having a chance to make a snappy remark. "So after you take over Camelhot, what are you going to do?"

"Um... I'm going to... er... Shut up!"

"You're going to shut up? It's about time!"

"...Quiet you! Camelhot will finally be mine!" At once, Geoffrey tugged on the reigns and headed right for the castle's drawbridge.

"Seyon, shoot that rat!" Allfire commanded. By that time, Seyon already had his sights fixed on the beast. His left arm trembled heavily as it tried to support the enormous gun. However, he didn't fire.

"Come on! Fire already!"

"I can't! If I was to shoot it in the butt, it probably wouldn't stop it soon enough. Plus, it might make quite a mess..."

"I suppose that you're right. There must be something we can do..."

"Seyon, I have an idea!" Krystal blurted out. "I'm going to lure the rat away from the castle!"

"NO!" Seyon shouted. However, it was too late. She had already dashed off with lightning speed.

"Hey! Look at me! I'm a fox! Bark Bark!" She shouted as loud as she could.

The rat stopped dead in its tracks and turned around to investigate the noise. It immediately recognized the fox-girl. It knew that foxes often prey on rats, but this rat also knew that the tables had been turned. The predator had become prey. Suddenly, the rat darted after her. She made a sharp turn to her left and took off. Doing so gave Seyon a good shot at the rat's side. Krystal ran as fast as she could; any slower and she would certainly be an ex-fox.

Seyon had a perfect shot leading the rat. He pulled the trigger, and the gun fired its enormous projectile, sending a report that seemed to echo endlessly throughout the forest. The recoil spun him around sharply. The bullet struck the rats' shoulder, causing it to stumble sideways. Though the rat was seriously injured, it charged even faster, under the false impression that it was fox-girl who had injured it. With a swat from its right paw, the rat sent Krystal flying about thirty feet through the air, landing hard on the ground, tumbling over several times on impact.

Seyon was shocked and frightened by the sight. He always feared greatly for Krystal's saftey, and now she was lying on the ground, with no indication as to how badly she was injured, or even if she was alive at all. And to top it off, the rat was still charging.

The rat ran up to her, ready to finish her off in the off-chance that she was still alive. At that moment, Seyon fired his last shot. It hit the rat on the side of its head, causing it to jerk sideways violently. Then, the rat fell to the ground, stone dead. He forcefully handed the rifle to Allfire and ran toward his beloved furball.

"Krystal?" He asked as he kneeled over her. She did not respond.

"Krystal?" He asked again as he stroked her cheek. Again she did not respond.

"No..." He whispered as he closed his eyes.

"S... Seyon...?" She asked as she just then regained consciousness.

Seyon then felt so relieved that it gave him a brief feeling of euphoria.

"Yes, Krystal?"

"Did... Did I do... good?"

"Yes, my sweet furball. Yes you did. Just don't scare me like that again!" He replied as he stroked her soft hair. She just smiled.

"Are you all right?"

"I think so..." She replied very slowly.

"How's your back and neck? Any pain?"

"Just a little."

"Can you feel this?" He then tickled her toes to assess any possible spinal damage, and she affirmed that she could feel it just fine. Fortunately for her, Seyon had been heavily trained in first aid and even received advanced medical training in the military, enough to make him certified as a field surgeon. He checked her over for any other serious injuries, and he was relieved to find none.

"Do you think you can walk?"

"I think so." She said as she carefully rose to her feet.

"Now that this matter of doom has been settled... Count Geoffrey is going down!"

"Uh oh..." Count Geoffrey muttered as he climbed down from the deceased, monstrous rat.

"You N'wah!" Seyon shouted at the count. "Prepare to meet some serious doom!"

Seyon then darted after him. Count Geoffrey ran as fast as he could, but unfortunately for him, his pursuer was an avid jogger, sprinter, and bicyclist. Therefore, it took no time for him to catch up with the count and tackle him. They both fell to the ground, with Seyon, the great President of Braigland, on top of him.

"Please Seyon! Forgive me! I swear I won't do it again."

"Oh no! You are going to be punished most cruelly and unusually... By me, Seyon the punisher."

"You can't do that!"

"Oh, I can, and that's because Braigland's Constitution doesn't apply here, fool!"

"What are you going to do to me?"

"Something horrible..."

"Ooomph!" Corlea grunted as she tumbled on the ground behind them, having failed to stick her landing.

"Seyon! What did I miss?"

"Count Geoffrey here tried to take over Camelhot with a giant rat! Krystal got hurt in the process, and I heroically defeated the rat with my 2-bore, and now, Geoffrey here is going to get it!"

"Why don't I take care of punishing him?"

"Sure! I want to stick by Krystal to make sure that she is okay, or that she doesn't do anything crazy." At that, Seyon darted for the vixen, who was loosely bracing herself on Allfire's shoulder, waiting for her lover's return.

"Krystal, how are you feeling?"

"Pretty good. My leg hurts, though."

"Is it broken?"

"I don't think so. I can walk on it just fine, but it hurts when I do."

"You are lucky to have come out of that with only minor injuries. After all, you made quite a flight. Foxes aren't 'sposed to fly, you know."

"I figured that out." she replied. Then, a small movement in a nearby bush attracted her attention.

"What was that!" She suddenly blurted out, turning her head sharply towards the woods, her ears pointing forward.

"I think it was a squirrel!" She declared as her eyes opened wide.

Without warning, she darted towards a tree that it climbed up, despite her wounded state. Seyon followed her close behind, as he was concerned about her injuries. It was extremely common for her to chase squirrels, as foxes often do. All too often, she would get lucky and actually catch one, which she usually celebrated by "playing" with it, which often led to it being torn apart and eaten raw in small pieces.

"Come here, squirrel!" She shouted up the tree. "You know you want to!"

"Krystal, don't worry about that squirrel. You are hurt and should be resting! Besides, there are plenty of them in Braigland for you to chase."

"But I want it! It's a squirrel!"

The tree was oddly angled, and she proceeded to climb it, taking advantage of its twisted trunk. She followed it up to a high limb, and then crawled slowly across it, drawing ever closer to her prey. The squirrel had no place to go. There was no nearby tree for it to leap to. It saw no choice but to run towards her, hoping to climb over her. However, it failed. With one quick hand, the vixen caught it. It bit her hand in a desperate attempt to escape, but she was quite used to it and therefore it did not faze her at all.

"Seyon! I caught it!" She proudly declared.

"That's great. Now you'd better get down here, or else!"

"Or else what?" She asked as she bit the neck of her prey with her sharp teeth.

"Or else doom will occur... Wait, did you just bite that poor squirrel?"

"Um... no..."

"You lie! The fox-girl lies! Now come down here right now!"

"Okay..."

She tried to turn around on the branch, but her leg suddenly lost the rest of its strength, and she immediately fell to the ground. It could have been a lethal fall had Seyon not caught her at the last possible second.

"Ouch!" She said in a semi-sarcastic tone, trying to sound and look as cute as possible. Even so, her lips and nose were covered in squirrel blood, and she still clutched the poor, deceased creature in her blood-stained hand.

"Krystal, you're coming back to the castle with me." He said in an unusually stern voice. "You are hurt and need your rest." He set her on her feet and instructed her to follow him.

"Seyon, for saving me, I want to give you this."

She presented to him the mutilated squirrel carcass as a gift. Her fox instincts told her that that was one of the best gifts she could give. In essence, she was giving away a meal that was difficult to catch and well-earned, and she was depriving herself of it.

"Um... You keep it..." He replied as he glanced at the "gift."

"Really? Thanks!" Krystal immediately began chewing on it as she limped on toward the castle next to her love.

They walked on for some time in an awkward silence. Allfire and Corlea had apparently returned to the castle, as they were nowhere in sight. Seyon tried to act as though he was quite upset with the vixen, but in truth, he could never stay mad at her for any length of time, and she knew it.

"I'll race you to the castle!" Krystal blurted out, trying to break the silence.

"No! Your leg is not up to it! FOOL!" However, it was too late. She had already taken off, and her leg gave out from under her, sending her face-first into the ground.

"Are you all right this time?" Seyon asked as he ran up to her.

"I meant to do that!" She replied happily as she got up on her feet.

"I'm sick of you getting hurt. I'm going to arrange some air transportation for you to the castle!" Seyon then whistled as loud as he could, and moments later, Scarlet landed in front of them.

"You called?"

"Yo, Scarlet my dear. Krystal here is hurt."

"I know! Corlea told me all about it! That giant rat sent her flying, and she was all like, FWOOOM! And then, she was all like, THUD! Ouch."

"Precisely... Anyway, I need you to carry her to our room."

"All righty!" She took to the air, grabbed the vixen under her arms, and flew off into the distance. She softly set Krystal on the balcony of their room, and then landed herself.

Seyon continued walking by himself. It was a gorgeous day, and he thoroughly enjoyed the walk. The fact that his wedding was to be the next day kept repeating in his mind like a skipping record. He had already had the entire event set up through numerous phone calls, and there was nothing left to do wait. Out of the blue, he was picked up into the air and then carried off.

"What's up, Scarlet?"

"You were taking too long!"

"Ouch! Watch the shoulder! It's so sore from that rifle..."

Scarlet shifted her grip on him, nearly dropping him in the process. It was not long before both of them were in their room. Corlea was sitting on the floor, playing the Nintendo again. Krystal was lying sideways in bed, watching the screen.

"Wait a second!" Seyon blurted out without apparent cause or reason. "I told Bradford to send the Burgundy Dragon Brigade here to get Flicker's car down, and THEY have not arrived! Fools! Some horrible doom is going to rain down upon them in a hailstorm of glorious madness!" He dashed over to his phone, dialed a number, and soon he was speaking to Bradford, his right hand man. Just for fun, he put it on speaker mode.

"Hello Seyon!"

"Yo. How are things?"

"Absolutely crazy. New Guinea is giving us serious heck... We need you here A-S-A-P!"

"Yeah, yeah. However, you were supposed to send the Burgundy Dragon Brigade here to get my friend Flicker's car down, were you not?"

"Oh CRAP! I'm so sorry! I'll send them right away!"

"Of course you will! And do that funky thing that you do with the time machine that makes them come here almost instantly!"

"But you warned me against doing that with large objects or groups of people, sir!"

"How dare you obey my past orders!"

"Right! I'll have them there in a jiffy!"

"Awesome! Bye!" Seyon turned off his phone and jumped up on top of what was now Corlea's bed.

"It's a good thing I exist!" He stated explicitly. "Say, Corlea I have an entirely random thought. Weren't you supposed to stay here for only a week?"

"Yes." She replied, still focused heavily on the game.

"Well, hasn't it been, like, much longer than a week?"

"Yep."

"Do you see what I'm getting at, here?"

"Yep. Don't worry. My dad is COMPLETELY cool with it!"

"Righteous! Oh, and where's Count Geoffrey?"

"He's tied up in the closet over there watching infomercials."

Seyon trotted over to the door and opened it, and sure enough, Geoffrey was duct taped to a chair, forced to watch nothing but infomercials on a small portable color television.

"Seyon! Help me! This is horrible! I'm so sorry!"

Without saying anything, Seyon closed the door, leaving him to his misery.

"So, now what?" He said aloud to himself.

At once, there was a knock at the door.

"Krystal, hide under the blankets!" She immediately buried herself under the comforter completely. Seyon then answered the door ridiculously fast, as he always did.

"'Bout time!" He exclaimed as he saw the twenty members of the Burgundy Dragon Brigade. "Come in!"

They crowded into the room, trying not to step on any of Seyon's prized possessions that he had scattered about the floor in a haphazard way.

"So Burt," Seyon started as he addressed the leader, "How are the kids?"

"Sucking my wallet dry."

"I hear they do that a lot. So you're all going to get Flicker's car down, right?"

"Of course."

"You'd better, or I'll make sure that every waking minute of your life is mildly dissatisfying."

"But every waking minute of my life IS mildly dissatisfying."

"Well, then I'll make it slightly more so!"

He gasped. "Yes sir!"

Finally, one of the dragon workers pushed her way forward through the crowd, meeting Braigland's president face-to-face. She was quite tall, about two inches taller than Seyon, and had short brown hair, as short hair was required when employed in the brigade for safety reasons. Her skin was a pale yellow, and she wore blue denim overalls and a well-kept tool belt around her waist, as required. In addition, she wore a dark pair of sunglasses.

"Ashley! It's SO good to see you!"

"It's been so long... I am glad to see you too!" She said with her distinct southern draw as they embraced each other in a friendly hug. That of course immediately got Scarlet's attention, as she was watching HER man talking to another woman other than the ones she knew very well and trusted. Typical of her mental condition, however, was the fact that she always placed her blame with the woman, NEVER Seyon, even if he initiated the interaction.

"Seyon, who is this person?"

"Scarlet, this is Ashley, one of my good friends."

She glared at the stranger, and reluctantly shook her hand.

"Check this out. Ashley here has the COOLEST birth defect of all time!"

"Well, I wouldn't call it a defect..." Ashley lowly interjected.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, it's like the coolness of finally opening a fresh jar of mayonnaise that seemed to be glued shut. It's called heterochromia. Ashley, show her!"

"Okay..."

She removed her sunglasses and the condition became quite apparent. Her right eye was a wonderful shade of sky blue, and her left eye was a lush, vibrant shade of green.

"Wicked, isn't it?" Seyon blurted out.

"..."

At this point, Scarlet was steaming. She was extremely jealous, especially because her lover, and soon to be husband, was fascinated with a medical condition in another women that she didn't have. She just walked away without saying anything.

"All right you all! Get Flicker's car down!" At that, the entire group left, ready to begin their work. Seyon slowly closed the door behind them.

"Okay. I am now bored!"

"What do you want to do?" Krystal asked from under the comforter hoping that Seyon would let her out.

"I don't know! That's why I am bored, you blue fool! Also, you can come out now."

"Sweet!"

Seyon threw himself backwards on his rocking chair, nearly falling over. He rocked viciously back and forth, thinking about what to do. In truth, he was nervous about his wedding that was soon to take place, and anything that kept him busy made him feel much more at ease.

"Wait... I'm getting one of those things..." He muttered out load to himself.

"What kind of thing?" Corlea interjected, focused heavily on the game she was playing.

"It's like pictures going through my head... showing me what I should do..."

"You mean an idea?"

"Yes! One of those!"

At that, Seyon ran over to his nightstand, picked up his phone, and was soon talking to Bradford once again.

"Yo, Bradford, I need you to send me the Mauler."

"Why?"

"Silence! Your insolence will be your demise! Now send it to the courtyard here, fool!"

"Right away, sir!"

"Oh, and make sure that it has plenty of gas."

"Got it!"

Then, Seyon pushed a button and set the bulky device down.

"Scarlet, my dear, you are about to learn about hot rods!"

"Hot rods? Why should I be concerned about them? Is it because they are hot and will burn me?"

"Sure. Why not. So, Krystal, do you want to go for a ride? If you are up to it."

She immediately sat straight up.

"YES! And my leg feels great too!" She started panting, just like an excited dog.

"So you mean that your injuries healed already?"

"Yes!" She answered excitedly without really thinking about what Seyon had asked her.

"If you say so. Scarlet, Corlea, do you both want to go?"

"Sure!" Scarlet replied almost automatically, as anything Seyon wanted to do was something she wanted to do by extension.

"I'm too far in this game! I can't quit!" Corlea stated.

"You know, ever since I brought that Nintendo, you have never stopped playing it. I think that you are addicted to video games."

"I am not! I can quit playing anytime! I just don't want to."

"Then why don't you stop playing?"

"NO!"

"Very well." Seyon trotted over to her, bent down, and then set his finger on the power button of her beloved game system.

"Aaaggghh!" She pushed him away, and then wrapped her arms around the Nintendo, hissing at him in the process.

"Fine, fine! I won't touch it. I promise."

"You'd better not."

"Scarlet, Krystal, let's go!" Seyon walk out of the room with the two girls following behind them, leaving Corlea to her obsessive video gaming.

"I'm getting SO excited! Where are we going? We're not heading to the courtyard, are we?" Krystal suddenly blurted out.

"I'm going to see if Flame wants to go with us. We have room for one more person!"

"So... You're going to introduce me to this... Flame, right?" She asked, noting that it was extremely rare for her to meet new people.

"Of course! Don't worry. She's cool. Here we are!"

"Seyon, wait! I have an idea!" Krystal declared. "You two hide. I'll knock on the door, and she'll be all surprised when she sees me!"

"Krystal, that is a awesome idea!"

"You mean that is AN awesome idea!"

"Exactly. You have fun, now!"

Seyon and Scarlet at once darted away. Krystal readied herself at the door, as she did not know what to expect. She knocked on the door. It was not long before Flame opened it.

"Hello." The fox started off in her usual American accent. "My name is Krystal and I am new here, and I don't know anyone. I'm just trying to find my way around."

Flame, however, was not at all surprised. Since the vixen was so unique in her nature, she immediately knew that Seyon was somehow involved with her presence.

"It's good to meet you. I am Princess Flame. Now how are you related to Seyon?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, you are wearing Braigland style clothes, you have that strange accent that Seyon has, and you are furry."

"Fine. You got me. I am Seyon's girlfriend."

"What? But he is marrying Scarlet tomorrow! He can't have a girlfriend!"

"It's true, Flame." Seyon blurted out, having returned from hiding with Scarlet at his side.

"How is that possible?"

"It is a LONG story with some terrific performances from some great actors." Seyon explained. "Anyway, where's Flicker?"

"He's helping those people get his car down."

"That doesn't surprise me. Now all of us here are going to go for a ride in the Mauler. Do you want to come with us?"

"The Mauler?"

"That's the name of my most ridiculous car. So?"

"Sure. I am bored out of my mind since Flicker left."

"...And what were you doing before he left?"

"Nothing."

"Sure... Anyway let's go!"

It was not long before they had arrived in the courtyard. However, the car was nowhere to be found. The courtyard was as vacant as it usually was.

"Hmm... Did I not tell Bradford to send the Mauler to the courtyard?"

"Yes. I should know. I was THERE!" Scarlet reinforced.

"Indeed..."

Just then, there was a bright flash, and the car appeared in the middle of the courtyard. It was a certainly a hot rod. The body itself was that of a red '61 VW Beetle, and in front of the firewall was an extremely old looking engine. It was a V-8 with exposed rocker arms on top of the heads. Each cylinder had its own shiny copper cooling jacket. Coming out of the heads were short zoomies that made up the exhaust system. There was a massive supercharger placed on top of the engine. The original engine in the back of the Beetle was removed and replaced with a fifty gallon gas tank to feed the thirsty engine. The entire car was pitched nose down, due to the small tires in front and the drag racing tires in back.

"Well, let's go!"

"Seyon, can I stick my head out the window?" Krystal asked, overly excited about going for a ride.

"Scarlet, is that okay with you? That means that you will have to sit in the back."

"That's fine."

"Awesome!"

They piled in the car, with Scarlet and Flame cooped up in the back, Krystal in the passenger seat, and Seyon, of course, driving. He sat there with his hands on the wheel, just staring out through the windshield.

"Aren't you going to start it?" Krystal inquired.

"I forgot to tell Bradford to send me the keys. Stupid me."

"You mean the keys that are in the ignition?"

"Son of a gun, there they are!"

Then, Seyon started the car and it thundered to life, shaking violently. The engine spat flames out of the zoomies and the rocker arms danced to the tune of the engine's exhaust. He drove slowly around until he pointed straight down the open drawbridge.

"Make sure that you all have your seatbelts on and that your backs are firmly against the seats."

"Seyon, are you going to drag race?" Krystal asked.

"No! It takes at least two cars to drag race."

"Oh."

"Is everyone ready?"

They all responded in the affirmative. Seyon revved the engine a few times, and every time he did, the car torqued violently to the right. Then he floored it while holding the clutch to the floor.

"Here we go!"

He popped the clutch, and everyone was pushed back heavily into their seats. There was a glimpse of the sky, and then Seyon shifted into second and there was another short glimpse of sky. Then, he took his foot off the gas, and the car settled down, barreling down the open road at 120 miles per hour. He gently stepped on the brakes, bringing the car down to around 60.

"How cool was that! Zero to 120 in three point seven seconds! Actually it was a lot longer than that since we're driving on dirt right now."

"Seyon, that was awesome!" Krystal blurted out. Scarlet and Flame were not as enthusiastic, and asked that he do not accelerate as he had as long as they were in the car. He quickly brought the car to a stop and killed the engine.

"You all are WIMPS! That's right! You all are Weakly Interacting Massive ParticleS! Except you, my sweet furball. Good job." She smiled back at him, and he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"I've got a story for you all," Seyon started off, "So this one time I was drag racing on the Burgundy racetrack in my top fuel dragster. When that christmas tree counted down, I stepped on the gas and off I went! My reaction time was incredible at .005 seconds, giving me the advantage off the line. I got maybe two hundred feet down the track, and my engine COMPLETELY blew apart. Both heads came off and ripped the bolts right out of the block. It even launched the blower clear over the grandstand. Long story short, I coasted to the finish line and won the race!"

"How could you win if your engine blew up?" Krystal, who was a big fan of drag racing, asked.

"I wouldn't have had the other guy NOT blown up coming right off the line! At least I made it a little ways before I blew up. What a great race! As we drag racers like to sing... 'It happened on the strip where the road is wide, two cool shorts standin' side by side...'"

"No. Drag racers don't sing that."

"I know. Now since Scarlet and Flame here don't want me to drive like a crazed maniac, I'm bored now. Let's go back to the castle." He stated obnoxiously loudly.

He started up the engine and drove slowly, and it was not long before they arrived back in the courtyard. He asked Flame and Scarlet to leave, who were quite happy to get out of the speedy metal deathtrap.

"There we go, Krystal. It's just the two of us! NOW we can drive like insane zombies who eat brains! Drag racing brains!"

"Seyon, I am glad that we are alone. There is something that I have been wanting to discuss with you..." She started off as she rolled up her window.

"Is it about racing and cool stuff like that?"

"No. It is something personal."

Seyon at once killed the thundering engine again so that they could actually hear each other without having to yell.

"What is it, my furball?"

She sighed. "Seyon, I can't help but feel betrayed." She said as she lowered her fox-like ears, showing her seriousness.

"What do you mean?"

"I pledged my love to you as you have to me, but you went out and found another girlfriend whom you are now going to marry. Where does that leave me?"

"But I DO love you, and I always will. Besides, Scarlet commanded me to keep our relationship as it is."

"Yes. SHE did, but certainly any other woman would not have been so understanding, or psychotic. We could have been seperated forever!" She started to sob.

"Oh dear. When you say it like that, it makes me sound so evil. Tell you what. I'll do whatever it takes to correct this matter. Go back to the room while I think. I'll meet you there in a little bit."

She left without saying a word. Seyon knew that there was one thing he could do. He knew that he could talk to Flame. She always cared and would always be willing to help. Seyon then proceeded down the hallway.

"Seyon! Yoo-hoo!" Blaze shouted from down the hallway.

"Blaze, not now." He replied sternly.

"But Seyon, I have something to show you!"

"Not now. Doom is all up in my case right now, and it sucks."

"But it's something for that furry girl! It is absolutely to-die for! It would totally complement her color."

An idea popped in Seyon's head. It could be something he could use to help his position.

"Sure Blaze, my *choke* friend, what is it?"

"Here it is!" He opened a wooden box in front of him revealing a gorgeous necklace. It sported a large diamond-shaped blue-green gemstone of some sort in a rather plain gold-plated facet suspended by an intricate gold band

"I can't find her anywhere. Would you give this to her?"

"Blaze, I have a favor to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Could you give this to me so I can give it to her?"

"Isn't that what I just asked?"

"That's not what I mean. I want you to give it to me so that way I give it to her and say it is from me, not from you. It would seriously help me out. Do you catch my drift?

The strange dragon thought for a moment. "Okay Seyon. As long as she wears it I am happy!"

"Thank you so much!" He exclaimed as he took it from his hand and dashed towards Flame's room. He found her door open, and the princess lying on her bed, having obviously arrived not a moment sooner.

"Flame?"

"Yes Seyon?" She replied as she sat up.

"I need to speak to you." He stated as he entered and closed the door. He sat down next to her.

"I have a problem and I am hoping that you can help me."

"What is it?"

"I screwed up. I fell in love with Scarlet and promised to marry her, while in the mean time, Krystal was expecting me to be faithful to her. I messed up bad, and I don't know what to do."

Flame scooted herself closer to him and rested her hand on his leg. "Seyon, I can't tell you what to do. This is between you and Krystal. You need to show Krystal that you do love her, and that you do care for her. Talk to her and see how she feels." She replied as she drew herself closer to him.

"Now I have something to talk to you about." She said softly as she rubbed his leg.

"Yes?" He replied, though somewhat uncomfortable by her encroachments.

"Seyon... I... I love you..."

"You WHAT?"

"I'm constantly feeling torn apart between you and Flicker. I don't know what to do either..."

"What a strange twist of events! Flame, I swear this is evidence for my great, and COMPLETELY correct, theory that we are just figments of someone's imagination. After all, how else could such a clever and messed-up twist of events happen?"

"Seyon, please listen to me. I don't know what to do!"

"You and I will always be friends, but we can't be anything more. You are fortunate to have someone as amazing as Flicker as a soon-to-be husband. As for loving me, I'm stuck between a psychotic wife and a foxy girlfriend. I've got no more love to spare. We'll discuss this later after my crisis has been taken care of. I can only deal with one crisis at a time. Now I have to go!" He gave her a quick kiss on the lips to tease her and darted off to face his loving furball.

He soon arrived at his room, where Krystal and Scarlet were watching Corlea play the video game that she could not stop playing for any reason.

"Krystal, let's talk in the closet where it's nice and quiet. They both walked to the closet door and Seyon opened it, revealing Count Geoffrey, who was still being held captive. Seyon simply slid the chair out of the closet with him still tied up. He then entered the closet and sat on the floor beckoning the vixen to join him. When she entered, she closed the door and sat across from him.

"Krystal," Seyon began.

"Seyon, I want to talk to you first."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry for being upset. I guess I forgot who I was. You once told me that you could never marry me because I could not be seen in public since we don't know how the public will react to me."

"You're right. And I've told you several times before that I need a wife who I can love and have beside me in public. It's expected of the president of the country. Besides, I seem to remember that you begged me to be your boyfriend on the condition that when I finally found a girl, our loving relationship would end, and would become just friends and nothing more."

"Exactly. I thought about it again and I realized that I was so lucky to have you, and I am even luckier to still have you as my boyfriend. In all honesty, if you hadn't rescued me from the science place when you did, I would have certainly died in that dingy cell."

"Krystal, you know I love you. After all, you're only fox-girl in the world! That makes you all the more special."

"Well... I've lied to you. I am not the only fox-girl. There were two others and a fox-boy."

"Wicked! Now why have you not told me about them until now, foolish furball?"

"Um..."

"Ha! YOU have no answer! Now tell me about THEM!"

"I don't think that now is the time..."

"If you tell me, then I will scratch behind your ears!" This promise of course got her attention.

"Scratch my belly too and you have a deal."

"Accepted."

"Okay. First, keep in mind that since we were created from similar DNA, we all look similar. First was GME 147. She had orangish-brown fur, except that her fur in front was white. She had no mammary glands and was therefore considered a failure. We were the best of friends, but she was killed accidentally about a year before the place was shut down and you rescued me. They threw her naked body in a dry ditch behind the building..." She tried to hide her tears.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. How was she killed, if I may ask?"

"They were trying some sort of new vaccination on her. After they injected in her arm, she stumbled around for a few minutes, and then fell to the floor without saying a thing, and that was it..." She tried not to dwell on the subject for any length of time.

"Anyway, I was born next, and after me was GME 156. He looked very much like 147, but he was male. He was supposed to mate with us when we came of age, but he had many health problems and died young, and his death ruined any chance we ever had to bear children. Last was GME 168. She looked a lot like me, but she had black spots on her fur as I recall. We played together when we were little, but she was taken away, and I have not seen her or heard about her since. I believe that she may still be alive. After her, funding to the program was cut drastically, so she was the last one. All of this is in those records that you've confiscated. Have you not read them?"

"No I haven't. Reading those wordy, dry documents I feel would cause permanent and irreversible brain damage. Oh! I have this necklace for you! It is a symbol of my perpetual love for you, or something all symbolic-like."

She was speechless. Seyon slowly took the necklace out of the case and put it around her neck, taking off her beloved dog tag.

"Seyon, it's beautiful!" She exclaimed, her eyes watering with tears of joy. May I have my dog tag back?" Her dog tag was one of two possessions that she kept form the Genetic Experimentation Laboratory when Seyon rescued her. She kept it to remind herself that those miserable days were over, and that she was no longer considered to be property.

Before handing it back to her, Seyon read it aloud. "GME 153, blood type A+, property of the Genetic Experimentation Laboratory, Papua New Guinea." Seyon gave it back to her, and she promptly stuffed it in her pocket. Suddenly, the door opened without warning.

"What are you two doing?" Scarlet asked with her usual inquisitive voice.

"Stuff." Seyon replied.

"I bet. Why didn't you invite me?"

"We weren't making out or anything, if that's what you mean."

"Oh. BORING! Carry on then." She then closed the door.

"So where were we?" Seyon began.

"We were right here."

Then she embraced her lover and kissed him, and he kissed her. He was of course extremely overjoyed. That kiss, overflowing with love and passion, proved to him that they were in love, and that was all that mattered. Without warning, Seyon stopped, having lost his focus on the kiss and was now thinking about his problems with Flame which were in desperate need of resolution.

"Krystal, I have to go."

"But... But why so soon? Did I do something wrong?"

"It's not you. I promise. I just have issues of insipid doom to take care of. Would you like to come with me? The most incredible Seyon?"

"Sure!"

It was not long before they arrived at Flame's room. Flicker was not present, as his car had been safely set on the ground and he was busy putting it through its paces. Flame was sitting on her bed, waiting for Seyon to return.

"Flame! How are you?"

"I'm okay, but did you have to bring Krystal with you?"

"No. She followed me like I was some sort of... squirrel. Krystal are you saying that I am a squirrel? Tell me! TELL ME!" He demanded as he shook her violently.

"Hey! You asked me to come!"

"Come to think of it, I did. Never mind then."

"Can we talk now?" Flame interrupted.

"Sure. Why not?" He replied as he sat down next to her, and the vixen sat down next to him.

"Seyon, I know that Krystal is your friend and all," Flame began, "But I would prefer that she not listen."

"Very well. Krystal, commence ignoring!" At that command, she at once covered her ears and and started humming Dixie, Braigland's national anthem.

"Okay. Seyon, I think I have this matter figured out."

"Do you now?" He replied in a feigned Irish accent.

"I figured that I need to look at you as just a friend, and I need to look at Flicker as my lover, and my soon-to-be-husband. My love for you isn't true love, it is lust."

"That makes sense. Well then, that matter is settled."

"I sure hope so."

"Well, now I am bored. Bored I tells ya, BORED!" He tapped on Krystal's shoulder, signaling her to stop her planned ignoring.

"Krystal, would you like to play in the combat similator?"

"Of course I would like to play in the SIMULATOR." She replied, always making fun of how Seyon pronounced, "Simulator."

"That's what I said! Similator!"

"No. You said... Ah never mind."

"Flame, would you like to join us?"

"Sure. What is this 'simulator'?"

"It is a brand new tool that the Braigland militia uses to train for combat. It is the most advanced and expensive and not cost-effective virtual reality similator ever made!"

"If you say so. I'll try it."

"Let us go to my most ridiculous room... of ridiculousness!"

The arrived within a matter of minutes. Corlea was sitting on the bed, miraculously not playing the Nintendo, which was quite a shocking sight. Scarlet was not present.

"Corlea! Why are you not playing the game?"

"I was playing, and then it caught fire and stopped working."

"Wait... Did you set it on fire, or did it spontaneously combust?"

"I was just playing it, and then it burst into flames..."

"I see. Anyway, we here are going to play the combat similator. Would you like to join?"

"Nah. It's too... not video gameish... Can I drive that Mauler of yours instead?"

"Sure. Here are the keys. If you crash it, then I shall be forced to take some of your organs as payment or something... Yeah..."

"Sweet! You're awesome!" She snatched the keys from Seyon's hands and dashed away.

"Great! Now there's only three of us to play!"

Seyon picked up his phone and dialed a number, but nothing happened. He examined the phone closely, and after actually turning it on, he dialed the number again. Within moments, he was speaking to Bradford. He requested a dragon virtual reality helmet, a human helmet, and Krystal's special custom-made helmet and a control unit. Within a few minutes, the equipment appeared. Seyon and Krystal immediately strapped on their helmets, and Flame followed their example. The three of them sat on the floor, ready for action.

"Is everyone ready?" Seyon started. Everyone replied in the affirmative.

"Here we go!"

Suddenly, they were placed in a much different, but very real world. They were placed on top of a simple flat platform that was suspended in mid-air by some mysterious force. To the bottom was a seemingly endless blackness, as well as to the sides, and a bright white light toward the top.

"Total crudness!" Krystal started off. "I'm in the wrong body again!"

"What do you mean, and what's wrong with me!" Flame, who was in Ashley's body, asked, quite startled.

"I'm Seyon, and the similator got all screwed up and now I'm playing as Krystal instead of me! Also, your body has not been programmed into the similator, so it put you in a random dragon body that has been programmed in!"

"I'm normal, suckers!" The other Krystal replied.

"This is confusing!" Flame declared. "I understand who I am, but which one of you is the real Krystal?"

"I am!" Said the one in the green shirt.

"I'm Seyon... err I'm supposed to be. He he he... I'm a furball..." The one in the red shirt stated.

"Fix it before I get confused!" Flame demanded.

"Computer, I am Seyon. Please put me in my correct body."

"Voice not recognized. Please state secret password." A digital, omnipresent voice resounded.

"It's me you piece of junk! And how can I keep my password secret if I have to speak it!"

"Password recognized. Please restate your command."

"I said... put me back into MY body! Stupid computer..." Immediately the vixen morphed into Seyon.

"That's more like it! Now computer, turn all items off 'cept smash balls. It gets too hectic otherwise."

"As you wish."

The contestants then paused for a moment. They glanced around the nearly barren platform.

"So Flame, here is how we play the game. Each time you hit or strike your opponent, his or her damage increases. The higher the damage, the further he or she will go flying after a strong attack. Too far, and BLAM! Your opponent is defeated. Then he or she will reappear on a funky floating platform, having lost a life. Simple enough, huh? Also, this game is rated PG, so don't think you can go around taking your clothes off and stuff, because you can't. Make sense?"

"I guess so, but it sounds like this game may hurt..."

"Nope. And don't worry, there's no blood and you can't kill your opponent or wound him or her."

"Um... You two go at it. I'll just watch."

"Suit yourself."

Seyon at once punched Krystal right in the face. She pulled out a staff out of nowhere that had been modeled after her video game counterpart's staff and struck him.

"Oh, you are going down, fool!"

"Bring it on you non-fox!"

Seyon then pulled out his beloved .357 magnum single-action revolver and emptied the cylinder into her. She responded by shooting numerous fireballs out of the end of her staff at him. Suddenly, a red ball appeared around Seyon, protecting him from the barrage of fireballs. He then rolled past her, and before she could turn around, he struck her in the back with a sledgehammer that he pulled out of thin air, sending her over the edge of the platform. Using her staff, she rocketed herself back to safety. She then struck Seyon with her staff again, sending him flying off the platform. A jet pack suddenly appeared on his back and carried him to safety, and then abruptly vanished.

"Prepare to taste some screaming doom, you furball!"

"You wish!"

At that, Seyon obtained a smash ball, and it was time for his final smash. His two-bore then appeared in his hand, and two cartridges in his other hand. He at once loaded the rifle. Krystal jumped frantically, trying to get him to waste his shot. However, she landed on the ground at the wrong time. Seyon fired, and the massive bullet struck her in the chest. She was sent flying, and she screamed as she disappeared into the background, and then she vanished with a bright flash.

"You suck!" He taunted. "I, Seyon, am victorious! Behold my unsurpassable greatness!"

Krystal then appeared on a platform above, which soon disappeared, letting her fall to the ground. She flashed for a few moments, showing that she was temporarily invincible. As soon as she stopped flashing, Seyon fired the other barrel of his two-bore and sent her flying off the stage once again. This time, she met her defeat by flying too far to the side. Once again, she appeared on the floating cloud, eventually landing on the ground. However, Seyon's final smash was over, and his rifle disappeared.

"Seyon, you killed me twice already!"

"I didn't kill you. I defeated you. There's a difference of some sort present there in them words."

Rather than fighting Seyon, she turned all of her attention to obtaining a smash ball instead. Despite Seyon's efforts to thwart her, she eventually succeeded.

"Time for my final smash!" She boasted, holding two squirrels in her hand.

"With a squirrel? That's wimpish."

Then she threw it and her opponent. It hit him in the face, and while clinging to his it, the squirrel went crazy.

"Aaaaggghhh! This squirrel is wailing on my face, yo!" Seyon yelled as he ran around frantically, failing to get the assailant squirrel off his face. Without warning, Seyon suddenly flew into the void on the far side of the place, meeting his defeat. Within moments, he reappeared on the platform and was ready to fight. He threw a fist at the vixen, but she dodged it in a quick motion. She ate the other squirrel, and doing so alleviated all of her damage. In the process, Seyon struck her in the stomach with his feared sledgehammer. Instead of returning a blow, she threw her arms around him and kissed him. He then held her closely in return, kissing her as she kissed him.

"Um... Seyon?" Flame interjected.

He turned away from the loving fox. "What is it?"

"Aren't you two supposed to be fighting?"

"Well, yes... But we don't have to be! Come to think of it, you are technically an enemy to both of us, but you aren't kung fu fighting, fast as lightning."

"That's true, I think."

Seyon immediately went back to kissing the furball he held close. Without warning, she threw him over the edge. Using his jetpack, he flew back onto the platform.

"Hey! That wasn't nice of you! Now here's a move I call, 'Seyon's move!'" He then grabbed Krystal, and while holding her, he lept off of the edge with her in his arms. At once, there was a bright flash of light and they both were defeated. Seyon again appeared on a platform, but Krystal did not.

"Player two defeated." An omnipresent voice echoed.

"Sweet! I, am victorious!" He boasted as he fell from the cloud. "Now Flame, it's your turn to fight me!"

"I'm not sure I want to..."

"Come on!"

Just then, the computer's voice resounded, "Flame, someone on the outside wishes to contact you. Do you accept?"

"...Yes."

"Flame!" Flicker's voice resounded. "I've been looking for you. My car is down. Would you like to go for a ride?"

"Of course!"

"Flicker!" Seyon interjected. "Is Krystal there? I must profess my incredible greatness to her."

"Who?"

"Never mind. Computer, end this game."

At his command, the simulated world disappeared, replaced by reality. Seyon and Flame removed their helmets, revealing the real world.

"Flame, what were you doing?" Flame's soon-to-be husband asked, curious as to how she could be completely unresponsive while in the simulator, yet speak through the computer.

"Flicker, it was absolutely amazing! I put this helmet on, and then suddenly I was in a fictional world, but it was so real! It was nice except for all the fighting."

"Let's go my sweetheart. You can tell me all about it in the car."

Just before the two left, Krystal appeared from the bathroom. Flicker, quite alarmed by her unusual appearance, immediately drew his sword on her.

"Flicker, put that ridiculous sharp, pointy object of yours away. That is the Krystal I was talking about while I, Seyon the great, was in the similator."

"Why is she furry... and blue?"

"First off, she is part fox, and she is blue because... well... she was actually supposed to have brown fur, but for some reason, it came out blue... It's probably because the people who created her were stupid."

"Interesting." Normally Flicker would love to hear more, but he had a date with Flame and was too excited to think about anything else.

"Flame, let's go!" He urged.

The two soon departed, walking away hand-in-hand. Krystal and Seyon followed, having nothing else to do. Scarlet was with Blaze, having her wedding dress fitted for her, and would be there for quite a while.

"So furball, what would you like to do?"

"Stuff." She answered abruptly.

"What kind of stuff?"

"You know... stuff..."

"I'm not following you."

"Like, in the bedroom under the blanket kind of stuff." She said in a soft voice as she winked at him.

"Error. Does not compute." Seyon replied in a robotic voice, apparently still having no idea as to what she was hinting at. In fact, he knew exactly what she wanted, but she loved it when he played stupid.

"You know what I'm talking about..." She said as she embraced him, ready to kiss him.

"Is that a rat?" Seyon pointed out.

"A rat! Where!" She glanced around and spotted the rodent scurrying down the hall out of the corner of her eye. She dashed away from her love, chasing the vermin. It dashed into a hole in the wall, and she reached her arm in the hole as far as she could, trying to catch it. In a moment, she rapidly pulled her arm out, revealing the rat squirming in her hand.

"Seyon I caught it!" She shouted as she ran back toward him.

"Good for you, I guess..."

"Do you want a bite?"

"I don't think so."

"Sweet! More for me!"

"I think not! Let it go, you furry fool of irrepressible doom!"

"But rats are so tasty!"

"Krystal, do you want to get another painful rabies shot?"

"...No. I'll let it go..." She reluctantly brought the rodent close to the ground and let it go. It darted down the hallway, entering the same hole from which she captured it.

"Who in King Allfire's name is that beast!" Loungealot suddenly blurted out from nowhere. He drew his sword and pointed it at the vixen's neck. She bit the fur on her right arm several times just as an itchy dog would, lowered her arm, and then fixed her gaze on the immense dragon standing before her, showing little concern whatsoever.

"You could hurt somebody with that thing." She pointed out.

"Loungealot, put that thing away. She is not going to hurt you or anyone else!" Seyon declared unusually loudly.

"Why? She is clearly an abomination and must be dealt with!"

"HEY! That hurt..." Krystal remarked at being called an "abomination."

"Who in King Allfire's name is that beast!" Hotbreath declared as he belched fire from down the hall. He charged and drew his sword, ready to fight.

"Both of you, let her go. She is not here to cause harm to anyone... except me." Seyon demanded.

"But she is a beast and needs to be slain!" Hotbreath replied, belching fire in mid-sentence.

"Seyon, let me handle this." The blue vixen pleaded.

"Hold on! I have a most devious idea!" He then pulled out two large coins from his pocket and gave one to Loungealot and one to Hotbreath.

"By George! One whole pound?" Hotbreath blurted out.

"No. It's just a one ounce coin. I have no idea where you get 'pound' from. Now both of you, make like some cells and split."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know... get lost!"

"Get lost? How can we get lost in Camelhot?"

"Okay... Let me put this in terms you can understand ... Both of you, be gone!"

"Yes sir!" At that, both of the dragons disappeared, treasuring the vast sum of money that they had just obtained.

"You know, I could have SO taken both of them on!" Krystal boasted.

"I'm sure you could have."

They walked aimlessly down the hallway, marveling at all the relics on display, trying to keep from becoming too bored. Eventually, a stranger, a human about Seyon's height and age, approached them with a puzzled look on his face.

"Excuse me, sir," The strange man addressed Seyon, "Could you tell me where Princess Flame is?"

"Sure. Why do you, a complete stranger, wish to know?"

"I have a message for her. Her real mother passed away a few days ago."

"Oh dear. I am so sorry to hear that. I can give the message to her myself."

"No. I must give it to her."

"If you say so. She is out with Flicker driving around outside I believe."

"Thank you, sir." At that, he was off, apparently in quite a hurry to deliver the news.

"Seyon, I don't trust that guy." Krystal declared, growling in a low tone.

"What are you talking about, furball?"

"First of all, he didn't comment about me, and second, shouldn't he have been a dragon delivering the message? There some other reasons, too. I'm not talking about them."

"Hmmm... You may have a point... To Allfire, the king of stuff!"

"Why?"

"I have a crazy idea. Just follow me. I probably know what I am doing."

It was not long before the two had arrived at the throne room. Allfire was sitting alone on his throne with a expressionless look on his face.

"Seyon, how are you?"

"Pretty good. I have a question about Flame's real mother."

"Okay." An awkward silence followed.

"Well... What happened to her?"

"She died while giving birth to her. My little puff is all that I have left of her..." He replied in a grim tone.

"Insert curse word here! I think she is in danger!"

The comment immediately brought concern to the kings face. "What's wrong? Is there anything I can do?"

"Hopefully not. Krystal, let's go!" Seyon took off, and Krystal followed him. As he was running he reached into his pocket for his tiny five shot .357 magnum revolver.

"Dang it!"

"What?"

"The bastard swiped my revolver" At the remark, he stopped cold, pondering his next move.

"Seyon, I'll run to the courtyard to try to stop him."

"No! We'll go together." Seyon replied frantically.

"Listen, she is in danger! If I go first, I may be able to stop him before you get there!"

"...Okay. Just remember, if anything happened to you, then I don't know what I would do..." He replied as he kissed her softly.

Without saying anything else, she disappeared down the hallway. Seyon made it in record time to his room. He look in his closet for another pistol, but all he could find was his single action .44 magnum revolver, which was too powerful for what he needed it for, but it had to do. He opened the loading gate, spun the cylinder around, making sure that it was unloaded. With shaky hands, it took him much longer to load it than usual. After he hand put in six potent rounds, he took off running toward the courtyard, and in no time he had arrived.

Flicker had apparently driven off in his car, leaving Flame in the courtyard, presumably for safety reasons, or possibly because of the fact that he was a terrible driver. Seyon peered out from around a corner to investigate the situation. Flame was sitting on a bench completely alone, waiting for her love to return. Seyon at once ran up to her.

"Flame! You're in danger!"

"With Flicker driving, I sure was."

"No! Some dude asked me where you were and then I told him were you were and he said that he had to tell you that your mother died but Allfire said that she died a long time ago and then I found out that he stole my pistol and Krystal went to stop him and now she's not here but he's not here and you're safe but she's not!" Seyon declared rapidly in one long breath.

"Seyon, calm down! Now what is it that you are trying to say?"

"Some guy wants to kill you!"

Flame gasped. "...And you told him were I am!" She spoke with a shaky tone.

"Well, I wasn't very specific about it... But don't worry, as long as I'm here, you're safe. Now I'm worried about Krystal... That man's armed and dangerous and she went to stop him by herself."

"Let's try to find her!"

The two departed and stealthily walked around the courtyard. Flame stayed behind Seyon, who had his .44 magnum drawn and the hammer cocked. It was not long before they heard a shriek that sent chills down their spines.

"Krystal!" Seyon blurted out.

They dashed in the direction of the scream, and soon the found the vixen backed up against a wall, with the assailant standing in front of her, pointing Seyon's pistol at her head.

"Tell me where Flame is now!" The man demanded.

"You know, I'm really not sure..." She responded, even though she had caught sight of the two standing several yards behind the stranger. He struck her in the mouth with the pistol, knocking her to the ground. She growled in response as she wiped the blood off of her lips.

"How dare you lie to me! Now get up!"

Just then, Seyon fired his revolver into the air, sending a deafening report echoing throughout the courtyard. The man was noticeably startled, and he spun around to investigate the noise.

"Flame!" He shouted as he aimed the gun at her. "Maclaren told me that if you did not succeed in your mission, then I am supposed to kill you if he failed to. Now it's time for you to perish!"

Krystal then leaped at his back and tackled him causing him to fire a shot into the air. She brought him to the ground and tried to keep him there as long as possible.

"Flame, run!" She commanded. The princess ran away as fast as she could.

In a quick move, the man turned the tables. He soon had Krystal on the ground on her back, completely helpless. He then pointed the pistol at her head, and she stopped trying to resist.

"Drop your gun or I'll kill her!" He threatened

"Nah. I don't think I will. I am quite fond of this here pistol." Seyon smiled. Krystal showed little concern. She knew Seyon's "I have a crazy plan" look all too well.

"I'm not kidding! I'll do it!"

"Go right ahead. I would love to see her all exploded and stuff. I'll take pictures and post them on the internet."

"So be it!" He pulled the trigger, but the gun just responded with a click. He then pulled the trigger several more times, but nothing happened.

Seyon then tackled him, and with Krystal's help, he was quickly defeated and then brought to the dungeon. They threw him inside, and Seyon locked the gate, and then for added safety, secured the gate with heavy chain and a Seyon brand padlock.

"So, how did that work?" The vixen asked, feeling greatly relieved.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know... Why did the pistol fire only once?"

"On that piece of junk the cycling mechanism thingy broke, so when you pull the trigger, it won't cycle the cylinder."

"Wait... Did it break, or did YOU break it?"

"Yeah. I broke it. Anyway, now I can load only one round and fire it once, or I can put in all five and cycle the cylinder manually. I don't do that. That sucks because of reasons. So I only put it one round. 'Cause the other way sucks, you know?"

"If you say so!"

"Now let's go visit Flame. I bet she's upset..."

They trotted to Flame's room and entered it without knocking. They found the princess lying down on her bed, crying heavily into the pillow. Seyon sat down next to her, and Krystal sat next to him.

"You know, I'm sick of having to save you from certain doom, and other people for that matter, from certain doom... of doom!" Seyon started off on a cheerful note.

"Seyon..." Flame sobbed. "That's the third time that someone has tried to kill me! What if somebody else tries to kill me? He may actually succeed!" She cried as she sat up next to him.

"Flame, It seems to me that you've made some enemies." Seyon stated, holding her close. "Why don't you come with all of us to Braigland tomorrow? You can live in my pad until things cool down here."

"Can Flicker come too?"

"Of course he can!"

"Seyon, thank you so much!" She said, slowly stopping her sobbing.

"Flame, I have a completely random thought. Krystal's video game counterpart is a telepath. Let's see if Krystal here is too." Seyon said, trying to help Flame feel better by talking about something different.

"Okay..."

"Krystal, what am I, Seyon, thinking about?" He said as he rubbed his head, trying encourage telepathy.

"Umm... I don't know... potatoes?"

"Oh, you're good. Now what I am thinking about?"

"I don't like guessing!"

"Come on! Try it, yo!"

"You are thinking that I am too whiney sometimes."

"No! I was STILL thinking about potatoes! Mmmm... Potatoes... Remember those potato chips you made once?"

"Of course I do."

"Flame, you MUST hear this story!"

"Sure." She replied, starting to calm down.

"So this one time, I came home from a long day at the Capitol, and when I came home, I smelled this awesome smell, so I, Seyon, went to investigate. I found that Krystal was frying some potato chips that she had made herself in the kitchen of cooking doom. She gave me one and I ate it. It was the most incredible potato chip of all time! I asked her what she fried them in, and do you know what she said?"

"No. What was it?"

"Squirrel fat."

"Ewww... Really?"

"You bet. Now I was all like, 'How many squirrels did it take to cook these? There's not much fat on a squirrel!' She told me it took twenty-two of them."

"Twenty-three." Krystal interjected.

"Okay. Twenty-three then. Apparently she had been breeding squirrels in the attic for quite some time. Crazy furball."

Soon, a small sparrow landed on the windowsill. It looked around a couple of times and then flew into the room, landing on Flame's shoulder.

"Seyon, look! It's a sign of good things to come!" She declared, watching the little bird that was perched on her shoulder.

"Let me see!" Krystal demanded, pushing Seyon aside to see the bird. With lightning fast reflexes, she grabbed it and stuffed it in her mouth.

"Krystal!" Flame shrieked.

Seyon couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the feathers sticking out of the fox-girl's mouth while she tried to look as innocent as possible. "See! That's Ms. Furball for you! And to think that I kiss those filthy lips of hers..."

"...But she ate the poor sparrow!" Flame sobbed.

"Yeah, but she's part fox! That's what she does! Or at least one of the crazy things that she does..."

"Ewww!" Krystal said as she spit the slobber-covered sparrow into her hand. "I probably should have plucked all the feathers out first. Flame, do you want your bird back?"

Flame glanced at the deceased, chewed-up bird in the vixen's hand. "You can have it."

It was not long before Flicker entered the room, having finished driving his new car. His hands were filthy, and his armor had grease stains on it, as he had to do some on-the-spot repairs on his new vehicle. It was its first test ride, and he knew that it would have several bugs that needed to be worked out.

"Flicker, what's up? How did that funkadelic car of yours go?"

"Very well! I just had to tweak it a bit."

"I knew it! Now Flame here is looking for someone to hold her, so I'll leave you two alone. Come along Krystal."

Krystal happily joined him as he walked out of the room, swinging her tail from side to side. She followed her love back to his room, where he threw himself face-first onto his bed. Krystal then laid down in bed next to him.

"You know, you have a promise to fulfill..." She said slyly.

"And what might that be?"

"You promised to scratch my belly and behind my ears!"

"Ah yes. I will proceed then." He said in his best formal voice. At once, he viciously started scratching behind her ears. With his free hand, he reached under her shirt and started scratching her stomach.

"There! Are you happy now?"

"Oooohhh yeeeaaaaahhhhh... Scratch me right there! Ooohhh... That's the spot...!" She moaned.

She tossed and turned, trying to get the maximum amount of pleasure possible. Seyon continued for quite a while, much to her enjoyment. He knew how much she loved being scratched, but he never enjoyed scratching her as it caused her to shed fur all over.

"Holy spatula! Count Geoffrey is still locked in the closet!" He suddenly blurted out, ceasing the scratching. He dashed over to the closet and threw open the door. The count was still tied up in the chair, staring at the glowing screen in front of him. By that time, the batteries in the television had worn down, and the screen was very dim.

"Seyon, let me out of here! I'll do anything! I swear!"

"Anything you say? Hmm..."

"How's about you get out of here, and never try to take over Camelhot again. Deal?"

"Yes..."

"Awesome!" Seyon peeled off the duck tape that bound the Count to the chair and he ran as fast as he could all the way back to Castle Threadbare. Right after he left, Corlea entered the room.

"I'm glad one of us remembered to let him out!" She commented.

"Sweet! I'm glad that you are here! I've been procrastinating for as long as possible, but now it is time to reveal my past!" Seyon declared for no reason. "Corlea, I need you to fetch Flicker, Flame, and Scarlet."

"Umm... okay." She very casually walked out of the room, and in a while, she returned with the people Seyon wanted to see.

"It is a good thing that you are all here, for it is time for me to tell you all about my past!"

"Corlea told me that there would be cake..." Scarlet whined.

"Foolish dragon! Do you not know that the cake is a lie? But the cube is forever... Most intriguing..."

"Seyon! Tell us about your past! And then you owe me some cake!" Scarlet demanded.

"Very well." He sighed. "First off, Seyon is not my real name. It is the name of the company I founded and own. Some newspaper started calling me Mr. Seyon, and then it just became Seyon. My real name is Jeremiah Dexon. I'm from a mysterious place called Kentucky. I never went to public school. I am completely self educated, because I am great like that. I grew up as a dirt-poor hillbilly from a hillbilly family, hunting for food, living in a one room shack, making moonshine... Mmm... moonshine..."

"So, why did you want to keep this secret from us?" Flicker asked.

"Because no one would invest in Braigland or trust me with anything if they knew I was a stupid hillbilly. But I am not stupid! For I have read lots of books about all kinds of stuff, and I even took speech classes to get rid of my backwoods Kentucky accent. In all honesty, I am the first successful person in my entire family. Heck, my family's last name was actually Dixon, but my grandfather didn't know how to spell it, so it became Dexon. I probably have more to say, but I can't remember what it is."

"So that's who you really are?" Scarlet asked, almost disappointed in what he stated.

"Yep."

"That's fine by me! Now where is my cake?"

"You will get it tomorrow at the wedding."

"It had better be some awesome cake..."

"Anyway this cake is great, it's so delicious and moist. Look at me still talking when there's science to do, something something makes me glad I'm not you..." Seyon sang.

"Seyon, it goes, 'When I look out there it makes me glad I'm not you..." Corlea corrected.

"You would know that, miss 'Hopelessly addicted to video games.'"

"Seyon, about that wedding tomorrow... Have you done any planning or anything?" Flame suddenly inquired, as she had noticed that he spent no time on planning the wedding whatsoever.

"I have top men working on it, Flame. Top men. Also, keep in mind that Braigland style weddings are very informal and impromptu. Also, they are not so much weddings as they are parties. There is a little bit of ceremony, but that's about it. Then we party like it's 1699! Or 1999. Whichever one is better."

"Seyon, Flicker and I are going to bed." Flame suddenly stated.

"Allrighty you two. Be up bright and early. My parents and lots of other people are coming over for the wedding."

"Should I be concerned?"

"Probably. Good night, now!" At that, the two departed.

"That is my cue that it is bed time!" Seyon blurted out. He tucked himself in his bed as quickly as possible.

"Oh, Scarlet, according to tradition, you are supposed to leave, and I am not supposed to see you until the wedding tomorrow."

"Awww..." She uttered in disappointment. "I guess I'll go sleep elsewhere..."

"Go talk to Blaze. He will tell you all about what are you supposed to do in the wedding."

"How does he know all of this stuff that I don't?"

"It's a long story that can EASILY be summarized into a few sentences."

"...Well?" She asked after a while, expecting him to explain everything.

"I never said that I was going to tell you! Now you go see him my dear, and I will see ye tomorrow!"

"Okay..." She droned as she left the room.

"Corlea, are you ready for the night?"

"Yes." She replied, already half-asleep in her bed.

"Krystal, turn off the light." She did as she was told, and then carefully made her way to the bed, trying to avoid all of the stuff laying around on the floor. Then, where was a loud metallic crash.

"Ouch! My foot!" She shouted.

"Hey, watch out for my ammo can. There's ammo in it."

"Thanks for the warning." She replied sarcastically. Finally she made it to the bed and crawled in under the sheets next to Seyon.

"Keep your clothes on this time, furball." Seyon ordered with an unusually serious tone.

"Okay..."

"Now good night."

"Seyon, this is your last night of being single. Are you sure that you don't want to play around at least a little bit?" She whispered softly as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Yes." He replied abruptly.

"Oh... Good night then..."

"Krystal, I'm sorry, but I have a big day tomorrow and I need to rest. I can't afford to waste any time... Furball..."

"It's okay."

"Now tomorrow morning, I am going to send you back to Braigland. Scarlet and I will meet you tomorrow night."

"Seyon, may I please stay for the wedding?"

"No. There will be too many people there."

"Please?"

"Absolutely not!"

"You that I'm not going to stop asking until you say yes."

"Krystal, I'll see what I can do, but I won't promise anything."

"Thank you!" She exclaimed as she kissed him.

"Okay. Good night now!"

She quickly fell asleep, but Seyon tossed and turned for several hours, not being able to get his mind off the commitment he was to make the next day. He watched his homemade nixie tube clock roll over from 11:59 to 13:00.

"Someday, I'm going to fix that clock..." He thought to himself. After a few more restless hours, he finally drifted off to sleep.

All of them awoke at dawn to the rumble of several SB-4s landing in the meadow outside of the castle. The sun shined brightly through the window, filling the room with its golden glow. There was not a single cloud in the sky, and the temperature was just a little on the warm side.

"It is today!" Seyon shouted, rising suddenly out of bed. "Now I must put my kit on for the wedding!" He exclaimed as he dashed into the bathroom. He came out several minutes later, dressed and ready. He was dressed in grease-stained blue denim overalls over a white shirt. He had steel-toe boots on his feet and a ratty straw hat on his head.

"I take it that you are a hillbilly?" Krystal stated, pointing out the obvious.

"You know it!" He said with his native backwoods Kentucky accent. "I got to speak like this now!"

Krystal just smiled. She had always loved everything about him, even his hillbilly roots.

"Ma and Pa should be here. I got to go talk to them."

"Can I come with you?"

"No. Didn't you promise me that you would not leave this room if I let you stay here?"

"Yes..." She replied as she lowered her ears and looked away.

"You can come with me, but you owe me one, furball."

She giggled with joy and leapt out of bed, putting on her specially made sandals with incredible speed.

"Corlea, do you want to come with us?"

"Sure!"

Soon, the three were on their way. After navigating through the numerous halls and the courtyard within Camelhot, they finally made it to the three SB-4s that had landed.

"Ma! Pa!" Seyon shouted across the field.

His parents were quite different from everyone else. His father was dressed much like Seyon himself, wearing worn overalls over a white shirt and a tattered straw hat. He was a rough-looking man who had earned a living for the entire family through hard labor. Seyon's mother was thin and pale, but she was a loving and caring woman who had always been the best mother that she could be towards her son. She wore a blue dress with pink polka dots that she had had for quite some time and had worn it on only a few special occasions.

"Sonny boy!" Seyon's father replied, forcing his way through all the people who were setting up the wedding furniture. When he made it to Seyon he hugged him tightly.

"How you been?" He asked with a thick accent.

"Pretty good Pa! How's the farm?"

"Cotton's comin' in good this year!"

"Did you get the tractor runnin'?"

"I put me a new spark plug in her and Ol' Betsy started right up!"

"Jeremiah! It's so good to see ya!" Seyon's mother interrupted with a loud, scratchy voice.

"Ma!" He exclaimed as he hugged her.

"Jeremiah, I gots you a weddin' gift." She handed him an old rusty metal gas can full of some sort of liquid. He unscrewed the nozzle and sniffed its contents.

"Oh, Ma! You always did make the best stuff! Smells a bit like gas, too!"

"Seyon, what's in there?" Krystal asked.

"My mom's famous moonshine."

"Jeremiah, who's that? Can we eat her?" Seyon's mother said, pointing at the vixen.

"Ma, this is Krystal. I told you about her over the telephone, remember? And no, we can't eat her."

"Is that your wife-to-be?" She inquired, pointing to Corlea.

"No. She's friend of mine."

"Then where is that girl of yours?"

"Ma, I ain't supposed to see her until the ceremony!"

"Why not?"

"Because that's tradition!"

Meanwhile, Blaze was busy readying Scarlet for the wedding. She was standing in front of a mirror while Blaze adjusted her dress.

"Does this dress make me look fat?" Scarlet asked, intensely examining herself in the mirror. Her white dress was by no means an exquisite one, especially since Blaze had made it himself. However, it was made of the finest wool that he could obtain, and he made it to the best of his abilities. It was kept relatively short and light to accommodate for the outdoor festivities that were to take place after the ceremony.

"Scarlet, you look amazing!" He exclaimed as he carefully placed a golden tiara on her head.

"I hope Seyon thinks so..."

"Of course he will!"

"Blaze... I'm so nervous... What if something goes wrong?"

"Don't worry. Everything will be great!"

"I sure hope so..."

"Now just sit down and relax."

"Okay..."

She sat on the bed, staring at the clock that Seyon had reluctantly given to Blaze. It was about two hours before the ceremony was supposed to begin, and she had nothing to do. A few minutes later, she heard a deep boom that echoed throughout the castle, and it was soon followed by another. She glanced out the window to investigate.

"Seyon..." She laughed quietly to herself, as she saw him firing his 2-bore while others were busy setting up the wedding furniture.

"Ha HA! I am so freaking amazing!" Seyon declared. Several yards from him sat the exploded remains of two apples that he had shot.

"Nice shot!" Corlea complemented. "May I try?"

"Of course! Just don't go exploding stuff that's not supposed to be exploded, dragon!"

He handed her the rifle and one cartridge. She loaded the gun herself without any trouble, which surprised Seyon, as he knew that the gun had an unusual action. She shouldered the firearm, but she had a difficult time supporting the heavy rifle. She lined up the sights at another apple that Seyon had placed and slowly squeezed the trigger. When it fired, the rifle left her grip and the powerful recoil sent her stumbling backwards, and then she lost her footing and fell on her back. Seyon had amazingly caught the rifle just before it landed on the ground.

"What did you think?"

She was still lying on her back, smiling. "That was AWESOME! Did I hit the apple?"

"You sure did! You were all like, "Boom!" And then the apple was all like, "Pppppwwwwttttt!" You are an apple murderer." Seyon pulled the empty cartridge from the gun and handed it to her. "It's a souvenir." She giggled in response.

"Seyon, I'm hungry!" Krystal whined.

"You are always hungry, furball. Did you not smell that food on that table over there? For there it is... Over there... Over there... Send the word, send the word, over there..."

"My sense of smell sucks..." She complained.

"I know. I am trying to make fun of you because one would think that your sense of smell would be awesome, and it's not, but alas, I have failed at doing so.

"I asked my creators about it once, and they told me that they had a choice. They could either develop my sense of smell or my vision, not both. Naturally, they chose vision, and I am SO glad that they did!"

"Interesting. Anyway, you help yourself to the foodstuffs."

She dashed away towards the table, nearly crashing into several people on her way. Before her was an elegant array of all kinds of foods; everything from hors d'oeuvres to sushi. The wedding cake was a lush, intricate, and well decorated three-teir cake. On top of it was a small wax model of Seyon and Scarlet, holding hands. Krystal grabbed a plate and loaded it full of various foods, always eager to eat. However, Seyon had anticipated her actions, for placed at the end of the table was a brand-new squirrel-shaped rubber chew toy.

"All right!" The vixen shouted. "I'm going to show this to Seyon!" She thoughtlessly set down her plate on the buffet table and ran towards her love, proudly carrying her new toy in her mouth.

"Seyon! Look at what I found!"

"That's incredible, furball!"

She put it in her mouth and bit down on it. "Squeak!" Went the chew toy.

"Oh! And it squeaks too!" She boasted.

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

"Oh yeah... It's like the sound of a squirrel in distress..." She muttered with the toy in her mouth, chewing on it ferociously.

"Seyon! I was wondering where you were." Flame said as she approached them. She was dressed in her best dress, though it looked like any of her other dresses.

"Yo! Where is Flicker?"

"He is still getting ready."

"That surprises me."

"Why?"

"It just does for some reason... Total sweetness!" He shouted unprovoked. "It is here! Follow me, all of you!"

Seyon led the group to a car that had recently been lowered from the bombay of one of the SB-4s. It was a primitive looking car, with wooden-spoked wheels, a shiny brass radiator, as well as a number of other brass furniture. It was painted a shiny black, and had a retractable fabric roof that was lowered, leaving only a windshield to protect the driver and passengers from the elements.

"This here is my 1915 Model T touring car." Seyon explained. "My great grandfather bought this car in 1915, and it has been in our family ever since. My parents gave it to me right after I founded Braigland. I had it professionally restored, and now here it is, all awesome and everything! Krystal, stop chewing on that!" He suddenly commanded, as the squeaking from her chew toy was quickly getting on his nerves.

"Sonny, you wasn't kidding when you said you was going to take care of her!" Seyon's father stated in his usual loud and rough tone.

"I never kid! Ha! Just kidding!"

"Jerimiah, is that yer bride?" His mother asked, pointing at Flame.

"No Ma. She is Princess Flame, one of my friends. And I keep tellin' ya, I ain't 'sposed to see the bride until the ceremony!"

"A princess, eh?" She thought aloud, closely examining the princess. Flame took a few steps back, uncomfortable with the intrusive nature of Seyon's mother.

"Anyway, this calls for some music on my Auxetophone!" Seyon announced rather loudly.

"You have an Auxetophone? Incredible!" Corlea blurted out.

"You are familiar with it, yes? Then let me amaze and astound you with it!"

He led everyone to a large group of numerous individual tables which were in the process of being set up for the reception. Next to the largest one sat Seyon's prized Hammond B3 organ with a Leslie 122 speaker, on which the Wedding March was going to be performed. On the other side of the speaker was a square and elegantly decorated and stained cabinet with a turntable protruding from the top of it, and a shiny brass horn above it.

"This here is my most prized phonograph of my prized phonograph collection," He began, "This my restored 1912 Victor Auxetophone, one of the first phonographs to feature amplification. With THIS amazing piece of equipment, I can listen to my Billy Murray records in two volumes, off, and painfully loud! It's awesome! Behold!"

He pulled a record out of a smaller cabinet that stood next to it and carefully placed it on the platter. He turned the crank on the machine several times, and then pushed a button on the side of the machine. At once, the internal compressor started and droned with an abnoxiously loud noise. After putting a needle in the reproducer, he released the brake, allowing the platter to get up to speed. Then he placed the reproducer on the record. The volume of the music coming out of the horn completely drowned out the noise from the compressor. He sang along with the song.

"Now Henry Jones and a pretty little queen took a ride one day in his big limousine. The car kicked up and the engine wouldn't crank. There wasn't any gas in the gasoline tank..."

"Seyon, that's amazing! How does it work?" Flicker asked loudly over the blaring music. He was dressed in his usual armor, despite taking extra time to "get ready."

"Flicker! You nearly scared me to death! You don't want me being all dead and all, do you?"

"What? No!"

"That's what I, the great President of Braigland, thought. Why don't you figure it out for yourself? You learn more from doing and investigating rather than being told, you know?"

With Seyon's permission, he eagerly started probing the machine's inner workings, being careful not to damage anything. Seyon guided him on his investigating, giving hints as to how the machine functioned.

After several idle hours, it was time for the ceremony to begin. The minister signaled everyone to take their places. Flicker, Flame, Krystal, and Corlea sat on the front row on the right side of the isle as instructed. They recognized some of the people sitting on the other side of the aisle, such as Bradford, Ashley, Seyon's parents, as well as a few others. All of the Knights of the Square Table sat behind them. Krystal felt quite uncomfortable, as several people stared at her since they had never her before, and her sensitive ears could hear many of the faint conversations, some rather obscene, being held about her. Some of them even spoke of her by name from her video game counterpart. She chatted with Flame next to her to help ease her mind.

Scarlet was to be given away by Allfire, as her cold, unloving parents refused to show up. Griddle had been sent to a luxurious spa at Seyon's expense so that she could not possibly intrude in the wedding. Everything was set. Seyon waited at the altar for his soon-to-be wife to arrive.

Then, the organist started playing the Wedding March on Seyon's Hammond organ, and Scarlet paced forward with Allfire next to her. With the King's permission, she approached the altar. Seyon could immediately see her hands shaking at her side.

"Scarlet, you look amazing." He whispered to her, helping her feel more at peace. Seyon was fairly calm and cool, namely because he had a shot of his mother's famous moonshine beforehand.

"We are gathered here today to bind these two in holy matrimony." The minister started off from behind the podium. The next words were lost in Scarlet and Seyon's minds as they focused intensely on each other.

"Now the bride and groom will recite their vows." Was the next thing they heard. Scarlet and Seyon held each other's hands and began.

"Seyon, when I first met you, I knew that you were the one for me. I know that I have some issues, but you love me anyway, and that's all that I can ask for. I will always treat you right and never leave your side. I don't have a mansion, or a large fortune, or a vast collection of stuff to contribute to our union. All I can give you is my heart, and my eternal love."

Seyon had a difficult time remembering just what he was supposed to say after only one shot of moonshine. "After a long and bumpy road, both financially and physically, I hereby declare this bridge open. Oh wait... Wrong speech..." There was a chuckle of laughter from the audience.

"Okay. I got it now. Scarlet, I have always longed for someone like you. Someone unique, loving, and passionate. I longed for someone who would love me, not my possessions or wealth. Such women are far and few in between. I am glad to have one of those few standing in front of me here today."

With the vows finished, the minister concluded the ceremony.

"Scarlet, do you take Seyon as your lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, till death do you part?"

"I do."

"And Seyon, do you take Scarlet as your lawfully wedded wife, for better or for worse, till death do you part?"

"I do."

There was a period of awkward silence. The minister then had to remind Seyon of the next part of the ceremony.

"Now place the ring on her finger." He instructed.

"OH! The ring!" Seyon responded with surprise.

He reached in his right pocket for it, and then in his left. When he found the case, he opened it and carefully placed the exquisite diamond and ruby ring on Scarlet's finger.

"By the power invested in me by the Nation of Braigland, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Seyon embraced Scarlet for their most passionate, and probably least-remembered, kiss of their lives.

"Let the festivities begin!" Shouted the minister.

The crowd dispersed with incredible speed. They all headed for the buffet table, as Seyon had nothing but the best food money could buy served. Krystal, not surprisingly, made it to the table first. Only a few were right behind her, as most were unwilling to approach the table while the strange fox-girl was there. When she had finished piling food on her plate, a man at the end of the table poured a glass of moonshine and handed it to her. Another man cut a slice of the wedding cake and placed it on top of her nearly overflowing plate. She then proceeded to her assigned spot on the largest table. After she had left, the buffet table was soon crowded with people.

"HEY!" Seyon shouted. "Bride and groom first, you all!"

All of the people stepped aside, allowing Scarlet and Seyon to fill their plates. Then, they trotted to their table, where Krystal had already started eating. Scarlet had a glass of moonshine, but Seyon reluctantly refused one, as he had to drive later.

"Krystal, you're supposed to wait for us to eat!" Seyon declared.

"I'm part fox and there was food in front of me. What was I supposed to do?"

Soon, Flicker and Flame arrived, followed by Seyon's parents. Corlea was the last to show up. Everyone at the table ate in an awkward silence.

"Flame, Flicker, have you all tried your moonshine yet?" Seyon started, trying to break the silence.

"No." They both replied.

"Come on, try some! Oh, just don't set it on fire. It burns like rocket fuel. 'Cause it is rocket fuel."

Flicker sniffed it and quickly decided he did not want it. Flame took a sip of it and coughed.

"Strong." She choked. "I like it!"

It was not long before everyone had sat down and devoured the fine food that Seyon had ordered to be served.

"Seyon, you are such an amazing person!" Flame commented, who was clearly not in her right mind after half a glass of the moonshine.

"Flame, I think that you've had enough to drink." Flicker pointed out.

"Nonsense!" At that, she drank polished off the rest of her glass and set it back on the table in spite.

"Flame! I am impressed that you could chug that stuff. Not even I, Seyon, can pull off such an amazing feat!"

"You know, just because I am a princess doesn't mean that I don't like to have a drink once in a while."

"I seem to recall that you were a little off one night in Eddinburrough."

"Yeah. Some people challenged me to a drinking contest. You all came before I could finish."

"Scarlet, honey, you haven't even touched your stuff. What's up with that?"

"It smells a little strong..."

"That's what makes it awesome! Krystal, I can't believe that you of all people haven't even touched your drink! Are you broken?"

"I'm a little gun-shy after what happened on my eighteenth birthday..."

"Come on, you don't even remember it! But I do, and it was horrible."

"I remember the next morning all too well."

"Corlea, why don't you have a drink?"

"Because I'm not eighteen yet. Did you know that that's the drinking age in Braigland?"

"Well, since I wrote that law AND signed it, no. I had no idea. Also, we aren't in Braigland, now are we?"

"I know, but I still want to stick to my principles."

"Krystal, come on! Chug it!" Seyon suddenly changed his attention.

"I don't wanna!"

"Come on, furball! Are you a chicken, or a fox? I think that you are a chicken! A whiney chicken."

"I'm a chicken. Plain and simple."

Seyon then dropped a one-dollar coin into her drink.

"Come on, do it! Do it!"

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" Everyone at the table, except for Flicker, began shouting.

"Okay. I'll do it."

She did not drink at once, as the drink was just too strong. Rather, she took several large swigs in quick succession, and then slammed the glass down on the table when she had finished. She smiled, revealing the shiny, golden coin that she had caught in her teeth. Then she started to cough violently.

"Ouch..."

"So, Seyon, I've been thinking... Krystal is not entirely human." Corlea stated.

"And you've been thinking that? I think that your brain is busted. I'll send for a new one."

"Hey! Let me finish! Is Krystal's diet more like a human's, or more like a fox's?"

"You know, I had some science dudes figure it out. They said stuff... They said that she has almost the same nutritional requirements as a human, but she requires about three times the amount of protein. But she DOES need to eat her fruits and vegetables. Hint hint."

Krystal just stared blankly at him, as the drink had started to take effect.

"You all are BORING!" Flame commented randomly.

"I concur. Let's do some crazy stuff!" Seyon left his chair and approached his Hammond organ.

"Scarlet, my wife, as tradition states, and because that I am a freaking amazing person, I am supposed to serenade you with a song." He spoke into a microphone on the stage.

Everyone went silent and turned their attention towards him. Scarlet was not the least bit shy, as shyness was not in her nature. She happily watched her husband as he readied himself. However, instead of playing his organ, he pulled out one of his favorite instruments from a case laying on the ground, an open-back, five-string banjo.

"Here's a little favorite from back home in Kentucky. 'My Old Kentucky Home!'" He said as he made sure his banjo was tuned. "This stage feels a little empty up here. Pa, won't you come play with me?"

He declined at first, but with some encouragement from the audience, he took to the stage. Seyon then handed him another banjo.

"You ready?" Seyon asked.

"All right, sonny!"

Then, Seyon started playing with lightning speed. His fingers were a blur as he played, creating an intricate and dynamic melody in which the melody of "My Old Kentucky Home" could clearly be heard. His father then joined in, strumming just a few chords over and over. The crowd roared at the two who were playing in perfect harmony. When the song was over, everyone cheered.

"Thank you! Thank you very much! Now I'm going to let DJ Jake here take over all of your musical needs." He then put his banjo back in its case and sat back down.

"Come on, Flicker! Less dance!" Flame said, having a hard time speaking clearly.

"Flame, I know that you like to have a drink once in a while, but... you're drunk!" Flicker pointed out.

"You're SO smart! Thass why I love you!" She giggled and hugged him. "Come on!"

As she got up, she tripped over her chair and fell into Flicker's arms.

"Flame, I don't think that you should be dancing right now."

"Shut up and kiss me!" She said as she kissed him on the lips, much to his displeasure, as her breath smelled heavily of alcohol.

"Scarlet, you've been awfully quiet. What's up?" Seyon asked, noticing that she was just staring at her reflection in her glass of moonshine.

"I just don't feel right."

"And just why not?"

"I feel like I don't deserve you... I feel that perhaps you should have married Krystal instead..."

"You speak NONSENSE! Just drink some of that moonshine. It'll make you feel better."

She held the glass up to her nose, sniffed it a few times, and then took a sip. After a few moments, she drank several gulps of it.

"You're right! I DO feel better!" Then, she drank some more.

"Moonshine fhixes eferything!" Krystal added, clearly drunk.

"Come on, Scarlet. Let us be social." The groom commanded.

He beckoned her to accompany him to the dance floor, where they chatted with many happy and inebriated guests, the vast majority of whom Scarlet did not recognize. Krystal had followed them, cheerfully stumbling and staggering as she walked. She pretended to be interested in their conversations, but she was really waiting for her chance to dance with Seyon.

"Ssseyon! Iss time for us to dance!" Krystal said slowly, but with great excitement.

"Silence, furball! Can you not see that I am discussing pointless stuff with people?"

"But... I wanna dance!" She said defensively.

"Fine. Scarlet, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to dance with Ms. Furball here."

"And then you'll dance with me afterwards, right?"

"Of course, honey! It feels so weird to call you that..." She smiled in response.

Seyon led Krystal to the dance floor, as she had a difficult time making her way anywhere on her own. She babbled incoherently along the way. Seyon just smiled at her and agreed with her when she seemed to expect a response.

Then, they made it to the dance floor. Seyon requested that the DJ play "Let's Dance," one of his favorite Big Band era songs. In truth, they did not really dance. He swayed side to side as he held her, since she was too inebriated to dance, or even stand up straight on her own. She happily rested her head on his shoulder as he held her close. People watched curiously as Seyon, the great President of Braigland, "danced" with with the strange fox-girl. When they had finished, he led her to a nearby table, where he helped her into a chair.

Unfortunately, someone had left an unfinished glass of moonshine on the table in front of her. She took a drink from it, and a few moments later, she turned to the side and vomited on the grass.

"Oopsie!" She slurred, smiling at her love.

"At least you puked on the ground, not on the table, fool! Come to think of it, I bet you won't remember ANY of this tomorrow! I could use that to my advantage!"

He spoke of his idea right to her, but she simply stared back at him with an expressionless face and chattered something unintelligible. He slowly walked away, making sure that she was not going to do anything stupid. He asked Corlea, who was bored out of her mind, to watch over her to make sure that she would stay put. He then made is his way to Scarlet, who had found out that people would pay her to dance with them.

"Seyon, look at all this money I made dancing with people!" She proudly showed her wad of cash to him.

"Scarlet, dancing for money at weddings is more for tradition, not for making money."

"Oh... Would you like to dance now?"

"You know it!"

"Cough it up!" She demanded, holding her hand open in front of him.

"You're my wife! I shouldn't pay to dance with you!"

"Come on, five dollars gets you a basic dance."

"Oh yeah? Then what does a hundred dollars get me?" He pulled out his thick wallet and drew a one-hundred dollar bill out from it and handed it to her, just to show off his seemingly bottomless wealth.

"The best dance ever!"

The DJ played Crimson and Clover, a song that Scarlet was familiar with. Everyone cleared the dance floor and watch the bride and groom have their first dance together. They embraced each other in a passionate display of love and affection, and they danced to the rhythm of the song in perfect harmony with one another. At the end of the song, they kissed, and the crowd surrounding them cheered loudly.

"Seyon!" Flicker shouted, holding Flame up under her arm.

"What's up, dude and dudette?"

"Flame here has had too much to drink. Can we lay her down in your car?"

"Flame, is that true? Are you drunk?"

She stared at him and mumbled, "A little...!"

"Wait... She's drunk, and so is Krystal... That gives me an idea of utter insanity... In fact, it is so insane, that if began to contemplate about how insane it is, then I would fall victim to its superb madness... Scarlet, go to my room and fetch my electric razor for part two of my plan of doom." She took off and headed toward the castle without even asking about his plan.

"So what is this plan of yours?" Flicker asked, as Seyon's description of his idea peaked his curiosity.

"Stay here. I'll be back." He said with his best Terminator impersonation.

He walked over to the nearby table where Krystal and Corlea were sitting. Krystal kept babbling to Corlea, who did her best to pretend to understand her and communicate with her.

"Hey my sweet furball, are you doing all right?"

"Yesss! Ssseyon, since... since when were there two of you? And ssstop moofing!" She said with a heavily slurred and slow voice.

"Awesome! Now come with me. Flame wants to see you. Oh, and Corlea, you want to speak to Flicker, right?"

"Why?"

"You WANT to speak to him! My plan requires it."

"Oh, I guess I do..."

Seyon then offered Krystal a hand and she cheerfully took it, and with his help, she got up. He led her over to Flicker and Flame.

"Flicker, Corlea wants to talk to you. Leave Flame here. I can keep an eye on her for you."

"Okay." He carefully let her go, making sure that she was not going to fall down.

Seyon pulled a camera out of his pocket and turned it on. He had forbidden any sort of photography of the wedding for reasons that he would not disclose to anyone, but he was willing to make an exception for himself.

"Krystal, Flame told me that you aren't brave enough to kiss her." He whispered in her ear.

She gasped, and then rushed over to Flame and kissed her on the lips in spite, and Flame was too tipsy to fully comprehend what was happening, so she kissed her back. Seyon then took a picture of the event, his plan having succeeded.

"Wooo!" Went the audience.

Just after they had finished, Scarlet landed, holding the razor in her hand.

"Here you go!" She handed over the device.

"Come here, Krystal!" Seyon beckoned.

She eagerly did so, not making the connection that Seyon was holding a razor and she was covered in fur. Seyon then announced to everyone to gather around. He handed Scarlet his camera, and instructed her to take lots of pictures.

"Come on, furball, take your shirt off!"

"Okay!" She mindlessly agreed.

Seyon had to help her, but eventually, her specially made shirt had been removed, and the crowed roared loudly. She instinctively began to take her bra off, but Seyon stopped her in the act, since his plan did not require it. He spun her around so her bare, furry back faced him.

"Now hold still, furball!"

Using the trimming attachment on his razor, he slowly began shaving in large letters, "S&S," for Seyon and Scarlet, on her back. She giggled and laughed, and Seyon had to get Ashley, who was a little tipsy herself, from the audience to keep her still. The crowd shouted loudly as he continued to shave off her beloved fur, knowing that she would have no memory of it the next morning, and that her fur would take several weeks to grow back fully. After he had finished, Scarlet took a picture of the finished image, and then Seyon helped Krystal put her shirt back on.

"My job here is done!" Seyon shouted unexpectedly, holding the razor high up in the air.

The crowd soon dispersed, resuming their festivities. Seyon left Krystal in Ashley's care, and he, along with Scarlet, chatted idly with his parents. Allfire soon joined the group, making it known that he was concerned that his daughter was completely drunk.

"Seyon!" Bradford shouted, dashing towards him.

"What's up?"

"I got a message from the Captiol. We need you back immediately. The Guineas attacked Roseport. They ransacked several blocks of the town, killed several dragons, and have taken many others hostage."

A chill ran up Seyon's spine. He knew that situation with Papua New Guinea was quite serious, but now it had gone critical. It seemed like war was inevitable, but he knew that Braigland was just not ready for such a commitment. He had no choice but to try to delay what was inescapable. Everyone had fallen silent, as the news had quickly spread. They all awaited for Seyon to speak.

"As you all have heard, the Guineas have attacked Roseport. I do not have time to make a long, elaborate speech. However, I can say that times like this define a nation. The actions that we will take, the decisions that we will make, and the outcomes that will take place shall go down in history as one of our greatest moments. Our constitution was signed and put in place not but two years ago. Braigland is young, but she is strong. It is true that our nation is not ready for war. But together, we will stand strong in the frightful face of adversary, and we will prevail!"

The crowd cheered and roared loudly. Seyon then asked Scarlet to find Flicker and Flame in the multitude, and he himself retrieved Corlea and Krystal, whom he had to hold up as he walked with her. He led them to the Model T, since it was the vehicle he had intended to drive home. He turned the magneto off on the dashboard, retarded the spark, opened the hood on the passenger side and turned the fuel on, closing the hood securely after he had finished. He then walked to the front of the car and turned the crank over several times. He then had Corlea turn the magneto on. He clutched the crank appropriately with his left hand, gripped the right fender, and then threw the crank over, making sure that it could not come back and break his wrist should the engine backfire. Amazingly, it came to life on the first try.

"All right, Corlea! Nothing like the sound of twenty horses thundering underneath the hood!" He was quite shaken and nervous from the news, but he kept himself calm with his levity.

"Do you have a counterweighted crank in it?" Corlea asked.

"Of course! I also put in aluminum pistons, a higher lift cam, an oil kit, a high-flow intake manifold, modern carburetor with an air filter, and a water pump!"

"Did you keep the stock ignition?"

"Pretty much. Model T's just don't sound right without the buzz from the buzz coils. I did put in an Anderson timer, however."

"Good choice!"

"I didn't know that you had such an eye for Model Ts."

"I know a guy who has one. Come to think of it, he has the same set-up that you have!"

"You're amazing. You have a good taste for guns, music, and cars! Wait..."

"What is it?"

"...You're not from my time, are you?"

Corlea's heart raced, as he had figured out who she was. "...No. I am not."

"I know EXACTLY who you are."

"You do?"

"You're my daughter from the future, aren't you? You've come back in time to see your young mother and father, haven't you? There is no other way you could be so much like both Scarlet and I, and Krystal, come to think of it."

"...You're completely right." She sighed.

"Oh, Corlea!" He hugged her tightly, and she hugged him back.

"Just don't tell anyone."

"I won't. I promise. So what's the future like?"

"I can't tell you anything. Your orders."

"Good girl!"

By that time, Scarlet had finally retrieved Flicker and Flame, as Flame was being rather uncooperative. Seyon got behind the wheel, Scarlet went in the middle of the front seat, and Corlea and Flicker placed Krystal in the back seat sitting upright, as she had fallen asleep and was quite unresponsive. Flicker then helped Flame, who giggled and laughed all the while, into the back, and then climbed in the back next to her. Corlea sat next to Scarlet and shut the door. The 85 year old vehicle was quite cramped with six people in it, but that was half of the fun.

Seyon then put the brake lever in the middle position and then pushed the far left peddle to the floor, and the car started to bounce along. He advanced the spark and the throttle, pushed the brake lever all the way forward, and then released the left pedal, and the T shifted into high with an increase in speed.

Everyone watched as Seyon, his psychotic wife, his furry girlfriend, and his friends drove off into the distance in the Model T. Then, there was a bright flash, and the car disappeared.


End file.
